Chito Ryu and Osu?

[username19853]

So at my new dojo where I study Chito Ryu, our Sensei is big on using Osu when he calls your name. To my understanding, Osu is mainly used in Japanese Karate such as Kyokushin. I understand that Chito Ryu was developed in Japan, but because of its roots and ways, only some consider it to actually be Okinawan.

I come from Matsubayashi Ryu, so using Osu kind of surprised me at first. Does my dojo simply use the expression because some consider it Japanese, or are they just using Osu because it's a well known Karate term?

My main question is, do you consider Chito Ryu to be more Okinawan or Japanese?

[Wastelander]

Chito-Ryu is a bit of a strange one, because while it is Okinawan in origin, it was heavily influenced by Japanese culture and practices. It really is an Okinawan-Japanese system--not one or the other, but both.

[Wado Heretic]

Osu sees a lot of use in many western Dojo; it is no longer unique to Kyokushinkaikan. I have heard it used in Wado-Ryu clubs, Shotokan clubs, and so on and so forth. Just one of those things that seems to have caught on. To be fair, I have never used it, and have never let people osu at me, but have seen plenty of places where it is just the norm.

Of Chito-Ryu specifically; on a technical level it is very much grounded in RyuKyu Shuri Te, but Chitose taught primarily in Japan during it's formative years, and significantly altered his teachings according to his expertise in contemporary medicine. In that sense it is technically Okinawan, but culturally Japanese, but has a flavour you will not find in the mainstream of either branch of karate. In short; it's Chito-Ryu, it's whatever it is where you find it, like any art. The local culture shapes a lot of club conduct, much more than it's origin point.

[Nidan Melbourne]

I am a Goju-Ryu Practitioner and we only use Osu for bowing related times.

We do not use it when being acknowledged by an instructor or senior student. We say "Hai" which means yes.

[Spartacus Maximus]

The expression was popularized in the West and elsewhere outside Japan starting from the Kyokushinkai. Nowadays it is used in many dojo teaching different Japanese martial arts.

In Japan, however, it is mostly limited to Kyokushinkai and offshoots because of the cultural significance it carries in Japanese society. Originally "osu" is a very rough expresion and it has militaristic and underworld connotations.

In Okinawan karate circles it is never used and some sensei will explicitly speak against its use. Of course, most people are ignorant of this and it would be unreasonable to expect people who train or teach outside of Japan understand.

[Nidan Melbourne]

I have always found when instructors insist on you saying Oss/Osu when they address you to be quite annoying.

Because you might hear oss/osu hundreds of times throughout a 60 minute class.

Although would be the norm for certain schools where everyone is used to it.

[Spartacus Maximus]

If it's the norm within the "karate culture" of wherever one trains, everyone eventually gets accustomed to it just like any other dojo protocol. Visitors and outsiders probably do find it at least a little strange, but it is always more polite and respectful to go along with it.

The majority of dojo where it is used have a very strict atmosphere, heavy on protocol. Dojo and instructors who have a more laid-back and casual style of teaching closer to how karate is taught in Okinawa will likely not use it.

[Martial Matt]

So at my new dojo where I study Chito Ryu, our Sensei is big on using Osu when he calls your name. To my understanding, Osu is mainly used in Japanese Karate such as Kyokushin. I understand that Chito Ryu was developed in Japan, but because of its roots and ways, only some consider it to actually be Okinawan.

I come from Matsubayashi Ryu, so using Osu kind of surprised me at first. Does my dojo simply use the expression because some consider it Japanese, or are they just using Osu because it's a well known Karate term?

My main question is, do you consider Chito Ryu to be more Okinawan or Japanese?

There are two big Chito-Ryu dojo here in Ky. and I've had the privilege of meeting students from the Covington main dojo and visiting the Frankfort dojo as well. Granted it was years ago, however I don't recall hearing the word "osu" used even once.

Personally, I would consider Chito-Ryu to be far more Okinawan in flavor than Japanese. Much of what I saw in their technique looked more like Okinawan styles than Japanese ones. Their peculiar method of chambering a punch was something I hadn't previously seen anywhere though.

Having went through considerable effort to lean Japanese, I'm trying VERY hard not to rant. The word "osu" roughly means "to follow". Why would anyone use that when their name is called and why does the Sensei think it's appropriate? Obviously I've no issue with foreign terminology being used, however using "osu" in that context puzzles me.

Maybe saying "hai" would be a normal response. The word "hai" roughly means "in agreement" not strictly "yes" or "no". While I grasp that schools enjoy using foreign terminology, and maybe do so in respect for their Sensei, using words in the wrong context is almost bad as mispronouncing them. The word "osu" being a prime example.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. Hope that I at least partially answered your question.

[JR 137]

The term Osu is a shortened form of the term Oshishinobu...

http://uskyokushin.com/osu.htm

I found it quite annoying when I first started watching and then training. Now, it's second nature.

I trained briefly with Okinawan karateka (Seiyu Oyata's RyuTe). They said hai just as often and in the same context, for the most part. I Osued a few times out of habit, and the Sensei just chuckled (he wasn't Okinawan). Several students had no clue what I was saying. I found the level of hai just as annoying as Osu first was to me.

As far as Osu vs hai, do whatever is expected at the dojo. Don't be "that guy."