The meaning of the word “Osu”
What is the origin of the word “Osu”, das wir immer in einem Kyokushin Dojo hören? Es gibt einige verschiedene Theorien darüber, woher es kam, aber wir wissen sicherlich, dass es durch Kyokushin Karate in die „Dojo-Welt“ eingeführt wurde. Heute werden Sie es auch in brasilianischen Jiu-Jitsu-Schulen, Kickboxen usw. hören. But where does the word “Osu” have its origin?
The word “Osu” is pronounced and written in various ways. Most write it as “Osu” or as “Oss” . There are different spellings and both are “correct”.
In many karate schools and even in some martial arts schools, the term “Osu” is used for almost everything and means the following in this context:
- “Hello”,
- “Goodbye”,
- “I understand”,
- “Thank you”,
- “Excuse me” or means
- “I am hanging in there!”
The pronunciation is closer to “Oss”!
Karateka and scholars from all over the world debate the history of the term “Osu” and its correct usage. One thing that is certainly known is that the term does not come from the birthplace of karate… Okinawa.
It was founded and started to be Japan used in
Origin theory of the term “Osu!”
- A theory comes from Dr. Mizutani Osamu, a sought-after language expert and linguistics professor at Nagoya University, and his work “Japanese: The Spoken Language in Japanese Life”. Dr. Mizutani talks about an experiment with people who return greetings. He has concluded that “Osu” could be a contraction of the more formal expression “ohayo gozaimasu”, which is a very polite way of saying “good morning” in Japan. Dr. Mizutani postulates that 'Osu!' is a crude expression used by men towards other men, meaning 'hey ya!' in English. However, the jury is still out on whether this is the reason why the word was adopted into karate.
- A 2nd theory suggests that it was invented by the samurai of the Saga clan (佐賀 藩 on the island of Kyushu). Yamamoto Tsunetomo (山本常朝 1659 - 1719), author of the legendary book Hagakure (葉隠), a book about the martial and spiritual way a warrior should live, was born in this clan. He mentions in the book that young bushi (warriors) of the Saga clan in the 18th and 19th centuries would greet each other with 'Osu!' when they were on their way to school in the morning.
- The third theory, similar to the first, is that it is a shortened version of onegaishimasu onegaishimasu (pronounced: oh-nay-guy-she-mus), which roughly translates to 'please look after me' or 'I am in your care' or 'please be patient with me'. It is a very important word used in dojos in Japan when asking a senior student or teacher for instruction or help. It is essentially a polite way to say 'please' It is known that some karate students in Japan use 'Osu' as a less formal way of saying Onegaishimasu. The strength of character that develops through hard training is known as 'osu no seishin' (spirit of Osu). The strength of character that develops through hard training is called 'osu no seishin' (spirit of Osu).
- Finally, the Kyokushin Karate version states that 'Osu' is a contraction of two words from a longer phrase known as 'osu no seishin'. The verb 'osu' means 'to push' and 'shinobu' means 'to endure'. 押 し Oshi means 'pressure' 忍 ぶ Shinobu means 'to endure'.
Together, these two kanji form a new compound word that symbolizes
- 'fighting spirit',
- 'the meaning of patience, determination and endurance',
- 'the need to overcome all obstacles',
- 'moving forward with a positive attitude',
- 'not showing pain or exhaustion'.
押 忍 It means patience, determination and endurance, and every time we say 'Osu', we remind ourselves of this during Kyokushin Karate training.
Especially in these current times of the coronavirus pandemic, we at Shinzen Dojo believe that this attitude can help children, teenagers and adults not only physically but also mentally to get through this time.
In this spirit: “Osu”!
