I was reading the article Marishiten: Buddhist Influences on Combative Behavior by David A. Hall in the book Koryu Bujutsu: Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan, edited by Diane Skoss and came across this description of volition and the related Japanese combat terms.

Volition (will, initiative) is a term that covers a sometimes obscure area of human psychology. In the Japanese combative context, volition can described variously as go no sen, sen no sen and sensen no sen. All of these terms indicate a type of action taken (or, in some cases, withheld) in relation to a combative situation; i.e., the interval (in Japanese, ma) of space and time or even psychological distance separating opponents. In general, these terms may be translated as follows:

Go no sen - response action – luring an opponent into making a foolish attack so that a counterattack may be used.

Sen no sen – preemptive action – using initiative to prevent the opponent’s taking initiative.

Sensen no sen - pre-active action – using initiative to suppress or defeat an opponent before he has a chance to contemplate an attack.

Take a moment and think about these three terms and the meaning in the context of your own style, training, and martial development. Think of situations where each of these could be used.

In combat, you want to make the conscious choice regarding action. It is much better to act on your own volition and coerce your opponent into acting on your terms.

Think about this.

Alain