Oss

[shortyafter]

The idea and concept of “osu/oss” is entirely from Oyama as far as its use in kyokushin. It is definitely not something he got from any of those who taught him. Another fact worthy of note is that Oyama and the Kyokushin has had considerable back-influence because of its reputation and fame. This means that some styles without any connection began to copy things like “osu/oss”

From personal experience, the reason why Okinawan teachers might not like it is for two main reasons. First because it sounds rude, crude and uncouth suitable for rowdy college students. Definitely not something one would use with one’s teacher.

It is also associated with the underworld of gangsters and other undesirable which any decent karate teacher would avoid like the plague lest he gain a reputation for teaching gangsters.

Would you (or JazzKicker or someone else) care to explain exactly why the word is seen as disrespectful? I have heard the same thing but never really understood why. I read that the origins of the word are dubious, but what I was taught in my Kyokushin dojo was that Osu means "I will endure in the face of difficulties" or something along those lines. Sounds pretty respectable to me. In fact, in that dojo we were taught to compete to have the loudest Osu, which would be a sign of our strong spirit.

I could sort of see how that could be seen as disrespectful, because, beating your opponent to a pulp with punches to the body also helps develop "strong spirit" but could also be seen as rude and uncouth when compared to traditional karate. So it is just because of that, or is there something else behind the word/its origin that I'm missing here?

Edited June 25, 2018 by shortyafter

[hammer]

Here's a good summary of why Osu means something different in Kyokushin:

http://www.australiankyokushin.com/osu.shtml

[JR 137]

Here's a good summary of why Osu means something different in Kyokushin:

http://www.australiankyokushin.com/osu.shtml

You beat me to it, hammer.

Great to see you.

[shortyafter]

Indeed. Thank you hammer.

[MatsuShinshii]

Honestly I had never even heard of the word(s) prior to joining this forum. I've studied Okinawan and Japanese arts and never heard an instructor or student say either of these words.

As others have said I would think it is art specific and caught on from there via students migrating to other arts or other arts picking it up after hearing it.

You know how we westerners are with words we do not understand... we latch on and believe we know the meaning even if we do not. Bunkai for example. Not the word for application. But somehow we made it so.

[singularity6]

I've heard these expressions in multiple settings. Some of them were completely butchered. My self defense instructor (PE credit in college) used to say "Hoos." Yeah, he was different.

[Spartacus Maximus]

It is a real eye opener for any practitioner to experience and learn how martial arts are taught in the native cultures. When comparing personal experience training in Okinawa and Japan, some things about how the terminology is used and abused by unknowing people appear strange. “Oss/osu” is one of those things.

[Shizentai]

You won’t hear “oss” but you may hear “osu.”

My understanding is that it started out as a Kyokushin thing. If not, I’m pretty sure Kyokushin turned it into the phenomenon it is.

I’ve heard some Shotokan schools use it, some never heard of it, and some despise it. It all depends on the dojo and/or Shotokan branch, I guess.

I’ve even heard BJJ guys use it. That one threw me off a bit - a Brazilian guy training BJJ osu’ing people.

And yes, at first it’s quite annoying. And you feel stupid saying it. Then you start saying it outside the dojo every now and then. Then it you finally control it, although every now and then you get the urge to use it outside the dojo.

Both main schools I’ve attended use it heavily. Then there’s those individuals who go above and beyond with it. There’s been a person or two at both dojos I’ve trained at who annoyed me with it, and that takes some skill to do.

Using osu is like bowing in the beginning. If you always bow stepping on and off the floor, when you first started did you find yourself fighting the urge to bow when leaving a store or work? I did and so did a lot of others I know. I remember one guy a few weeks after he started training saying he bowed to the room as he walked out of a meeting at work.

The Okinawan karate guys (not Okinawans themselves) I know tell me we’re so annoying with how often we say osu. I worked out at an Okinawan dojo for a summer one year (Seiyu Oyata’s RtuTe Renmei) run by an American guy. They said “hai” just as often, if not more often, and all the same ways we say osu. But yeah, we’re annoying and they’re not

As sensei8 said and most repeated, “When in Rome” or better yet, “when in an osu dojo” or when in a hai dojo”...

And in the meantime, may the osu be with you.

There exists another, let's call it "hypothesis," for how ossu came to be in karate, and why it is particularly popular in Japanese karate:

My friend who was in the Japanese Millitary for a number of years was made to whenever he encountered a superior on board his ship, stop what he was doing, salute and say "Ohayou gozaimasu" (=good morning) if it was the first time that particular superior was being encountered for the day. Because this had to be said very quickly as this happens often when you are low in the ranks, it effectively becomes a choir of "ossu" when someone important walks in the room. As modern Japanese styles of karate have taken on a lot of mainland-Japan cultural features, many believe this was one hold-over from mainland Japan's military culture.

Now, what that means in an American dojo is anyone's guess, as both lineage as well as diverse contemporary influences (other ryu, local orgs., local culture, etc.) are at play there. Still, it is one hypothesis as to why "ossu" gets said. I agree that it gets overused sometimes, but I personally don't mind it.

[Shizentai]

Here's a good summary of why Osu means something different in Kyokushin:

http://www.australiankyokushin.com/osu.shtml

You beat me to it, hammer.

Great to see you.

Indeed, although just a brief nod, even this source recognizes the other military origin of the word in Japanese.

It goes to show the power of the sound of a word. Regardless of whether words originated from the same place, in time things that sound alike influence each other in people's minds, given cultural contact.

[JR 137]

I just unintentionally came across this article on “Osu” from one of World Oyama Karate’s dojos (I believe Shigeru Oyama owned it) and immediately thought back to this thread. It sums up Osu quite well.

http://www.oyamakarate-wp.com/osu.html