Don't OSS me!

[Archimoto]

One of the many reasons I love this message board is that I get to read about arts that I have no experience with. I find many articles, like this one, super interesting. The World Wide Web, among other advances, is making the world a much smaller place and cross pollination is inevitable. Personally I've studied more than one art and I remain true to each without mixing respective elements but there's a fastidiousness in some martial artists that is simply not possessed by many. I think this topic presents a perfect example of things to come as the world gets smaller and smaller.

I try to channel it where I can, adapt when I can't, and embrace it all the same.

[Wastelander]

Kyokushin karateka will be quick to tell you that "osu" (sometimes spelled "oss") is a contraction of the words "oshi" and "shinobu," making it translate as "to push and endure." From what I understand, though, the phrase existed in the Japanese military prior to that, and it was considered very rude outside of the military. As far as I know, it was just a crude affirmative grunt. It stands to reason that Mas Oyama put a "meaning" to the word to try to make it more acceptable, but I could certainly be wrong. We don't use it in Okinawan karate, but every now and then you'll hear someone use it because they picked it up from someone who doesn't know better.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Wastelander you are correct about it being considered crude and rude outside the military. Oyama was in the military in his youth and he may have transfered that to his kyokushinkai and then assigned it a meaning for his purposes. In japan I have heard of students being yelled at for answering their teachers at school like that instead of the usual polite reply.

I also picked up on the fact that the okinawan dojos discourage the use of it due to its association with kyokushinkai and their attachment to the okinawan identity and origin of karate. Just like older Okinawan folks who would rather call themselves Okinawan than Japanese. Also kyokushinkai doesn't have a very positive popular impression for a lot of folks. Blame it on yakuza movies and earlier kyokushin competitions.

[bushido_man96]

Personally, I can't stand it. Some how it's crept into Jiu Jitsu as well and I think it's ridiculous. It's over formalized and rather cobra-Kai ish in my opinion. But that's just me. Lots of schools are really into it.

I tend to agree with you. We don't ever hear it, being in a TKD school. I see it at the end of posts all the time, and it kind has the same, overbearing affect.

[hammer]

Never heard of the term when I was in a TKD school but in Kyokushin it's used all the time...will just have to keep in mind that in most other Japanese MA styles it's not an appropriate term.

[Spartacus Maximus]

I never was a big fan of it either. I just did it because It was like a dojo code but it still felt weird and a bit silly. I still picked up that habit after years of karate before setting foot in a Japanese/Okinawan dojo. Now my first okinawan sensei's attitude towards it has rubbed off on me. I have come to see it the same way he does. I would at the very least find it annoying and disruptive when other people are OSSing at everything and each other while I'm trying to focus on my practise.

[JohnASE]

In fact many okinawan sensei do not like to be OSsed. The popular impression of karate seems different from mainland Japan where the public often associates it with the underworld and violent thugs. The impression in much more positive and masters are always pillars of their community viewed with respect because of their contributions as much as their dedication to preserving and teaching their native art.

From your post, I understand why Okinawan senseis might not want to be ossed, but in my experience, senseis from mainland Japan who relocated here to the USA often teach its use. I'm not sure, but it sounds like you're suggesting that its use is prevalent in Japan but not in Okinawa. Is that true? I have a vague memory of Demura Sensei, or maybe it was his sister, saying that training in karate was not a respectable endeavor when they were younger, at least compared to judo and kendo. Is it different now?

Personally, I don't like to be ossed either, but then again, I'm not a karateka. I attend a fair number of karate events every year, and it's not uncommon for someone to oss at me or bow to me or call me sensei. To be fair, I'm of Japanese decent and have more than a trace of gray in my hair, so I suppose it's understandable when a kid doesn't know what to make of me.

Anyway, I don't know what the big debate is about. In your dojo, do what sensei tells you, but just like everything else, understand that not all dojos are the same as yours. If it's misuse distracts you, use it to work on your kime. It bugs me when people say "relator" or "nucular", but what are you gonna do?

[Spartacus Maximus]

I tend to use my experience as a reference and most of it was training in okinawan dojos or under Okinawan senseis. So yes, according to that, the word OSS is more prevalent on mainland Japan and even there it is mostly kyokushinkai or offshoots of it who use Oss. It is also used to a lesser extent in other Japanese karate styles.

Kendo and judo have always been more popular than karate on the mainland but in Okinawa karate was not, as far as I know ever considered as a base endeavour. Okinawans were always proud of their native art. It has been taught in schools for the last hundred years or so and passed on in families of noble or martial decent. My teacher is an example of this as his father taught the police and his relatives include some famed and legendary experts of the old Ryukyu kingdom. He is also close to Fumio Demura's age, perhaps older.

Anyway, I don't make a big deal about the misuse of Oss. If I ever trained outside japan, I might explain it once but I don't think I would insist on changing the dojo habits of people who are not with me. I would be more concerned about the misuse of martial skills than the correctness of dojo Japanese.

[Drew]

when other people are OSSing at everything

Reminded me of this:

I had noticed some BJJers and catch guys have picked it up for some reason, it makes me want to face palm myself with the entire mat.

[Safroot]

In my kyokushin Dojo we say OSU for nearly everything ... hi, thank you , OK , got it , ...... I love it and sometimes I use it with trainers in my local gym and they couldn't understand it feels funny but I got used to say it all the time