Where did the word Osu come from, why do we say it when entering & exiting the dojo and at the end of class? Osu was introduced to the “dojo world” through Kyokushin Karate.
#1: The Kyokushin Theory
The first theory comes from Japanese full-contact Kyokushin Karate.
You see, in Kyokushin it’s common wisdom that the term “Osu!” stems from a longer phrase known as “Osu no Seishin”.
Mas Oyama – founder of Kyokushin Karate
In this particular case, “Osu!” is a combination of two different kanji (Sino-Japanese characters), namely the verb ‘osu’ which means “to push”, and ‘shinobu’ which means “to endure/suffer” or “to hide”.
Put together, these two kanji form a new compound word, which can symbolize a lot of stuff, depending on who interprets it: “combat spirit”, “the importance of effort” “the necessity to overcome all obstacles by pushing them aside”, “advancing with a steady positive attitude”, “not showing suffering” and “the spirit of perseverance” are some of the commonly cited meanings of this “Osu!” version.
In other words, since Kyokushin Karate requires extreme amounts of physical conditioning and guts – this theory says that you are verbally reminding yourself to breach your comfort zone by putting your physical/mental limits to the test every time you say “Osu!”.
#2: The ‘Good Morning’ Theory
The next theory comes from Dr. Mizutani Osamu in Japan.
“Hey ya!”
Dr. Mizutani, a linguistics professor at the University of Nagoya and frequently quoted in The Japan Times as a “language expert”, talks in his work about a fascinating experiment he once conducted with a group of random people in order to observe the various ways in which subjects would return a simple morning greeting.
Put briefly, Dr. Mizutani greeted unknown people on the streets of Nagoya with the expression “Ohayo gozaimasu!” (the most polite Japanese equivalent of “Good morning!”) and noted the different responses.
The result?
Although most subjects replied in a similar manner (“Ohayo gozaimasu!”), during the course of the experiment Dr. Mizutani noticed that greetings changed as situations changed.
Joggers, for instance, involved in an athletic activity, responded with considerably rougher language than people who were just out for a stroll or walking their dog.
As a matter of fact, Dr. Mizutani found that most of the joggers responded with shorter and shorter forms of the greeting, like “Ohayossu!”, “Ohayoosu!”, “Oossu!”, or simply…
“Osu!”
So, the conclusion drawn by Mizutani was that “Osu!” is a very rough masculine expression used mainly by young men toward other men, most often while engaged in athletic activities, and that it basically means “Hey ya!” in English.
But, is Dr. Mizutani’s observation of “Osu!” the main reason for our omnipresent usage of “Osu!” in modern Karate?
That remains a mystery.
Next up…
#3: The Onegaishimasu Theory
This last theory is called ‘The Onegaishimasu Theory’.
It’s similar to the previous ‘Good Morning Theory’ in the sense that a longer (formal) Japanese expression gets shortened to a more pragmatic (but less respectful) version.
“Onegaishimasu!”
In this case, the original phrase is “Onegaishimasu”, a word that most Karate practitioners have surely heard, or perhaps even used themselves, in the dojo.
Although “Onegaishimasu” is one of the most common expressions used in Japanese everyday language, it’s actually a pretty hard-to-translate term in English, and the closest equivalents I can come up with are “Please”, “Do me the favor”, or “Grant me the pleasure”, i.e. inducing a mutual feeling of reprocity and gratitude.
So, how does “Onegaishimasu” become “Osu!”?
Well, I actually noticed this phenomenon unfold myself on several occasions when I lived in Japan: While most regular students would exclaim “Onegaishimasu” as they bowed to each other before beginning an exercise, a couple of youngsters would always gradually shorten the phrase, until, by the end of class, the only thing that could be distinguished from the intended “Onegaishimasu” was a simple “Osu!” grunt.
Needless to say, these same youngsters would regularly shorten the expression “Otsukaresamadeshita” (a traditional phrase said after you finish training/work/school) to a simple “Tsukare!”.
Osu is a very powerful word. To us here at Fight Station, it simply means ‘I respect the dojo, those within it and always perservere... I never give up'
The word Osu is pronounced and written in a few different ways. Most write “Osu” or “Oss”. They are just different spellings and both of them are “correct”. The pronunciation is closer to “Ohss!”
Thats all for today!...
OSU!