Oss at oxy and you are likely to get a slap in the back of your head.

Old-school 1970s Kyokushin here. Pretty much said "Osu" just to get out of bed ... Said "osu" when asked if I'd like a cup of coffee ... You get the idea. (See what I did there? I used the original romanised spelling of the word. That's how OG I am.) Now, when new guys respond with "osu" it is a little unsettling, I'll admit, but I get it. They'll figure it out. They'll be "porra"-ing in no time.

In Finnish than you is "kiitos". It's easy to say it like "kiit OSS". Otherwise not very found of "Oss", osu, arigato, or even Thanks.
I tried to translate techniques to Finnish, but that was a dumb idea. Techniques don't have a unified names in any language. (That is an argument for using Japanize. Might be the best system for naming techniques - but who understands it?)

How does this relate to "OSS" - one fact in communication is that it is never understod fully. There is always a misunderstanding. Oss means something to the sender and has a different meaning to the reciever ... BUT it does not matter. We started by saying "UGH" or something as a caveman and something from the message was interpretated - maybe body language?

So "Oss" - "Ugh" - "Kiitos" "thanks"... when you are trying to communicate something nice.

There can be fun instances of ironic use :)

Even then, one should tread carefully...

Oss!

Fortunately, it seems like I hear it less and less over the years - hate it so much :D

How about instead we adopt that thing they do when doing kata or breaking boards.
KIAI!!
Maybe everyone can do this when shaking hands, walking on the mat, weddings, funerals and for anything really. Of course the hang loose hand

KIAI bro, kiai.

Love it.

:-p

My vote is for KIAI! combined with a karate chop ridge hand.

but isn't the ridge hand banned by NATO?
It's too deadly and in the wrong hands....

Agreed, I do not use the phrase, and dislike the use of the phrase.

I have thought people only OSS as a joke, and to annoy the Daniël-types.

That's why I do it most.... drives Jason Figliano nuts... Lol
I also know people who use it almost like punctuation at the end of everything they say. (is there a psychiatrist in the house?)

Oss

i think by now i only osu outside of the mat. lol

though on the mat it can be nice when you do it in an overly manly deep voice more like a 'oh-sss'
and you have to cross your arms while doing it almost like you are about to DQ someone...
makes almost any whitebelt stare in awe and probably osu back

it can be used in many funny and serious ways, i wouldnt wanna miss it in my life

but i must say those written oss slightly annoy me. its gotta be osu

anyway i also porra and caralho here and there

hell i even kamehameha and hadouken sometimes

Lol

Not a fan of "Oss". Cassio's school never really used it. I started teaching at a different school and they had the tradition of clapping and saying "Oss" after being taught the technique. I'd prefer something else.

On similar note I have always felt silly when people called me "professor".

haha yeah i always cringe when they call me professor.
especially if they are like way older than me or like already brownbelts...

I learnt the "Osu" from old school Shotokan days. I thought it was funny when the BJJ guys started this practice too but I never went back :)

Me too

Like everybody on here probably knows, "professor" is Portuguese and simply means teacher/instructor (and yeah, also used as in "master" ). Which makes it a totally sensible title to use in places where Portuguese is spoken.

It is the English meaning that makes it sound so silly when used in a training room context in other parts of the world. And I'm quite sure some of the "Professors" actually think that they are entitled to the title because they're so damn good in jiu-jitsu they're practically academics of the highest rank on their field. :D

We have one single guy in our gym who can do a Renato Laranja level Brazilian accent imitation, and I give him a pass for using the Portuguese terms... Otherwise it mostly just makes me cringe. (I do say "omoplata" though.) Not that anybody cares about my cringing.

Lol

They do OSS in japan, I mean we OSS in japan. Although not all of us, its more common in the kids classes.
And technically I'm in Okinawa.

I never oss/osu, find it very silly. Especially after reading this excellent article a few years ago: site has since gone down, but I made sure to save it: https://docs.google.com/d[...]jIrAg/edit

I'll whack it all up here too, for a super mega long post. I'm guessing this will hit whatever max wordcount is on this forum, so we'll see. Otherwise, this will involve a loooooong scroll. :P



Appropriate Usage of “Osu!”
by Rob Redmond - August 29, 2005
“Osu!”

You might hear that barked out by martial arts experts of all types both in Japan and in the West. It sometimes is used as an all-purpose expression of greeting, departing, and acknowledgement. It is a Japanese expression, and if you train in a Japanese dojo, you will come across it if you haven’t yet.

In order to have fun, build esprit de corps, add a Japanese flavor to the training, be efficient, and because it is -how things are done-, this and other Japanese expressions and terminology are a regular part of studying Japanese karate outside of Japan.

And why not? Baseball is extremely popular in Japan, and the professional teams there regularly sell out their games and play in large stadiums. And when the Japanese play baseball, they use English. Not really English, but sort of Japanese-English, or as some have called it: Japanglish. The Japanese say -homu lahn- for home run, for example, and brutalize many other English words and phrases while enjoying baseball. Baseball just does not seem right unless you play it in the original English, even if you cannot pronounce it correctly.

So it is with Karate in America and other English speaking countries with Japanese terms. I imagine the same is true in other non Japanese countries where English is not the primary language.

Osu is one of those sorts of expressions, and it is very integrated into karate practice outside of Japan. But “Osu!” comes with quite a bit of baggage attached to it in the form of rules for appropriate use and pronunciation.

As long as we use and hear the word frequently during karate practice, it might be entertaining to learn how it is used in Japan, and when and how the Japanese prefer to use it. From my observations, most people who use it do not do so in the same way the Japanese used it while I was there. I also find that pronunciation is often a challenge for many people who say this word frequently during karate practice. In fact, many people use the word far more frequently and with greater flexibility than the Japanese themselves might use it.

when the Japanese play baseball, they use English. Not really English, but sort of Japanese-English, or as some have called it: Japanglish.

Do you now wonder if you use osu in the right situations? Perhaps your usage is just your mimicry of what you have seen the more experienced members of your karate club do. Since your instructor does not scold them, you assume it is proper usage. Is your instructor just being patient and not really teaching people to use it so much?

Are you curious whether or not you and your friends are pronouncing osu properly?

Once you really start thinking about it, you might avoid it completely because you have learned that you might not be using it right, and you don’t want someone who speaks Japanese fluently to laugh at you for sounding like some kind of a samurai wannabe.

You are in good company. I learned osu in classes from people who spoke no Japanese at all. They had no idea what it meant or in what context to use it. They would say that word in place of almost any other expression. Each person spoke it 30 times per hour long lesson, and now I know we were always pronouncing it wrong.

Before We Go Too Far

Let me stop here for a moment before we go down this road. If you, nor anyone else in your club has or will ever set foot inside Japan, and you have no fluent speakers of Japanese anywhere around your karate club, or you just don’t care if you do, then maybe you really don’t care how to pronounce it using proper Japanese sounds, and maybe you shouldn’t really worry about whether or not you are using it according to someone else’s rules.

The Japanese regularly speak English words during baseball games, and I can promise you they could not care less about how to pronounce those words in English properly. As far as they are concerned, those -loan words- are really Japanese words now. There are loan words in all languages. Think about how we say -kuh-rotty- in English instead of -kah-rah-the.-

When I pronounce karate using the Japanese pronunciation, some people are impressed that I can pronounce it properly, but to be honest, most either find it pretentious, or they furrow up their brows and look at me as if I just burped up a frog and spat it out. They then ask me to repeat myself because they didn’t understand me.

Another word comes to mind. Karaoke. In Japanese, this word is pronounced kah-rah-O.K (close enough). But Americans pronounce it carry-oh-kee. If I pronounce that word properly, the same reaction happens: a few are impressed, many think I am pretentious, and the rest ask me if I am trying to say carry-oh-kee and ask me what my problem is.

So, keep in mind, while reading this article, that this information is provided IF YOU WANT IT. I am not trying to convince you that what you are doing is wrong, or that your club is some bunch of country-bumpkins off in the backwoods ignoring the very important rules of Japanese pronunciation and etiquette. If you are not in Japan, well, I-m not sure you should care. Lord knows the Japanese don’t care if they butcher English while playing baseball.

But if you do care, or if you are just curious

“Osu!” is a rough expression. That means it is typically used the way some mild profanity, such as the word -damn-, or slangy pronunciation such as -What up, G-? might be used in English. It is very informal, used between friends, and very close in meaning to when people say -dude- to one another. The usage is very similar in Japan.

And just like the word dude in American English, even the natives are not sure when to use it all the time, depending on how refined their speech is, how educated they are, what city they are from, and what sort of background their families have. A construction worker, a college professor, and a clergyman all have different uses and viewpoints on language use and what is appropriate in Japan and pretty much everywhere else.

Some Japanese use osu at the wrong time and find themselves being scolded by another Japanese for rude usage or inappropriate tone.

The only ways I can imagine this being a problem is that you might accidentally offend someone, or you might cast yourself in a negative light by appearing unintelligent or ignorant. Usually, with your friends and around educated people, these two problems will really not happen, because they will be patient with you since you are learning a new language, and educated people realize that people speaking a second language are not morons, but rather just struggling with limited vocabulary and grammar skills.

Unfortunately, just like all other countries, some Japanese are sort of- well, not every man and woman in Japan is a tolerant, understanding, sweet-natured nurturing sort ready to make adjustments for every mistake you make. Everywhere you go, there you are, and there will always be people who are just not very understanding.

When I have misused Japanese in Japan, I have had the good fortune to usually be tolerated and sometimes receive polite corrections or simply have my mistakes ignored. The Japanese are very forgiving of visitors to their country who make the attempt to speak Japanese and make a few mistakes along the way. But, I-ve also heard something like this, “Well, he is only a gaijin. They are like children. They have no culture like we Japanese.”

Consider that there are some people out there who will think of you that way no matter how good your Japanese is.

And let me tell you, hearing that didn’t make me feel very comfortable, and my confidence in my language skills went through the floor.

But you know, before you worry about that, consider that there are some people out there who will think of you that way no matter how good your Japanese is. I-ve had a Japanese policeman tell me that he did not speak English after I told him something in newscaster perfect Japanese before. There are jerks everywhere, but fortunately they are very few, and very far between.

If you are concerned about it reducing the chance that you will misuse this one word, the one that you probably say more than any other, perhaps because you are a perfectionist or you want to do things as authentically as possible, this article will help you do just that.

Why I Wrote Such a Long Article About Osu

I originally wrote this article in 1994 while living in Japan. It was very short and to the point. I have rewritten it so many times I cannot keep count any longer. I would rewrite the article after someone wrote to say they were offended by it, and just kept rewriting portions of it to soften the tone. I guess people get their feelings hurt when they reduce their ignorance and come to believe they are not doing things correctly. Maybe they are embarrassed of how they used to do it. I know I have had that experience many times.

And I-m often one of the world’s most blunt human beings in writing, largely due to my preference for efficiency rather than even considering people’s feelings, so my writing style has not helped. Well, now this article is a mile long, filled with over-explanation to keep from giving the impression that I am trying to condescend to people who do not speak Japanese, or that I am trying to make everyone do things my way.

The purpose of this article, however, is only to help you avoid going to Japan and being -that guy- that does something that everyone snickers about behind his back, in this case, using osu so much and so badly that people cringe when you do it.

And I can’t even guarantee that, because from one karate club to another, the usage varies depending upon how militant the members of the club are, how young they are, what sex they are, and so on, as you will learn. This is really quite a simple topic that becomes very complex if you think about it too hard, as many of my readers have done. But perhaps if I am thorough, you and I will understand each other, shake hands, and part company with you understanding what I was trying to say, and not being very concerned with the fact that I said it.

When you are done reading this article, you may feel fully qualified to bark “Osu!” at your friends every now and then.

This article covers the origins of the expression “Osu!”, proper pronunciation, appropriate use of the word in various situations, equivalence to noises used for esprit de corps in the West, and examples of incorrect and correct usage. A lot of source material was pulled from discussions held online about “Osu!” as well as the article on the topic that was here previously. You will find plenty of material to wrestle with.

When you are done reading this article, you may feel fully qualified to bark “Osu!” at your friends every now and then. You may feel that you cannot authentically use it, and in the desire to be avoid being incorrect, you may want to stop using it completely because it is simply too complicated to remember all of the rules. You may simply read this article as a curiosity and continue to use the word in your club as it is used, because, well, that is your reality and who cares anyway. All three situations are fine with me. I offer this article to you as help if you want it.

The Origins of Osu!

Unfortunately, the Japanese do not really know where the expression osu comes from. There are two prevailing theories as to the origins of modern Japanese using “Osu!”. Each theory is just that: it is only a theory. We can do little more than speculate on where the expression comes from.

For theory one, I refer you to Japanese: The Spoken Language in Japanese Life by Dr. Mizutani Osamu ((Mizutani, Osamu. Japanese: The Spoken Language in Japanese Life. (Tokyo, Sotakusha, Inc., 1981), 59-60.)). Dr. Mizutani is a linguistics professor at the University of Nagoya and is frequently published in The Japan Times, Japan’s English language newspaper, as an expert on the subject. He also has a rather long list of books he has published on the Japanese language.

On page 59 he talks about an experiment in people returning greetings. He greeted people on the streets and noted the responses. He always said, “Ohayo gozaimasu,” which means, very politely, “It is early”, and is commonly used as “good morning” in Japan.

During the experiment, he noticed that greetings changed as situations changed. Joggers, involved in an athletic activity, responded with rougher language than did people who were walking the streets with a destination in mind.

In his study, he found that most of the joggers responded with “Ohayossu!”, “Ohayoosu!”, “Oosu!”, or “Osu!” to him.

In Mizutani’s study, he found that most of the joggers responded with “Ohayossu!”, “Ohayoosu!”, “Oosu!”, or “Osu!” to him.

From the responses, we can see a clear pattern in the Japanese language as the more formal expression “Ohayho gozaimasu” is contracted:

Ohayo. more familiar and intimate; casual usage towards friends and neighbors. I used to say this and receive this back every morning when I walked into the office while I worked in Japan. Customers and visitors who came in said the more formal “Ohayo Gozaimasu” to us, however, because they were not part of our working in-group.

Ohayossu or ohayoosu. more athletic, male expression. You might hear this from a neighbor you don’t know well if you greet him while he is jogging past you. Men’s and women’s language usage differs more in Japanese than it does in English. There are distinct feminine and masculine expressions, and the Japanese find it inappropriate for women and men to use each other’s language. Generally such usage is reserved for transvestites.

Ossu or oosu. A very tough, rough expression of masculinity. Used primarily by young boys and others engaged in athletic activities together. It is generally aimed toward one’s colleagues, not the coach, instructor, or other seniors. The expression is avoided by women, unless the particular culture of the athletic activity has become one in which the ladies use this word regularly.

From this escalating contraction of the word as used by Japanese in this study, it is pretty apparent that all four expressions are related: osu, ohayosu, ohayo, and ohayho gozaimasu. I think “Osu!” is probably a contraction of “ohayo gozaimasu.” Mizutani writes in his book that “Osu!” is a rough expression used by men toward other men and that it means “Hi ya!” in English ((Mizutani, 60.)).

For the curious, there is a more rough expression than “Osu!”. “Oh!” is considered a rougher, more manly and potentially rude greeting than “Osu!”. I would read the rest of this article before using that one with anyone. I’ve never dared to try it out with any of my Japanese friends before.

There is another theory to the origins of this word, and it is supported by the way the Japanese write “Osu!” Every time I have seen the word written, the kanji shown here were used.

押 忍

Osu is written using the kanji for Push and Suffer.


The first kanji is the Japanese verb osu which means push ((Hadaminsky & Spahn, The Kanji Dictionary. (Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1996).)). It is a common word, used in the same way as when you say “Push the door open” or “Push my car because it broke down.” The second kanji is the Japanese verb shinobu which means endure or hide ((Hadaminsky & Spahn.)). The expression is a contraction of these two words together. This creates several possibilities for the original meaning of the expression.

Push and Suffer. “Osu!” could be an expression that means you should persevere under harsh conditions. That would be a very Japanese and military sort of meaning for it, and since the history of Shotokan is rooted somewhat in the militaristic period in Japan’s history, that would be a plausible meaning.

Push and Hide. It could mean that you exert yourself and do not show it. That is also a very Japanese concept. The Japanese do not think it is appropriate to allow your face to carry all of your emotions. During karate classes in Japan, I noticed that while I was grimacing, straining, or looking like I was about to have a breakdown, the Japanese faces were all without expression, as if their faces were on the body of someone who was not trying very hard. Therefore, I think this potential meaning is also just as likely.

Please sir, may I have another! Onegaishimasu is another word that could be contracted into “Osu!” Onegaishimasu is a polite catch-all word that generally means “please” and sometimes “sorry.” I noticed in Japan that some people used this instead of “Osu!”

It is important to differentiate between the origins of “Osu!” and the current usage of the expression. Just because the word is rooted in either “good morning” or “push and hide” does not mean that the Japanese are thinking that when they say it anymore than you are thinking the obsolete French expression for “stop” (holla) when you say “hello” to someone.

The potential origins of the expression “Osu!” are little more than Japanese language trivia. The true origins are unknown to both karate experts and the Japanese themselves. Whether it comes from an expression for “good morning” or “push” makes little difference to how and when you use it today.

So, everything I-ve just written is basically useful only in a game of trivial pursuit, if the topic is karate jargon. Otherwise, read on, because I haven’t written about anything you can actually use yet.

Proper Pronunciation

How do you say “Osu!” properly? You have three options available to you: osu, ossu, and ohsu. There is no change in meaning from one pronunciation to another. They all mean the same thing. Most Westerners pronounce this word somewhat incorrectly, though I imagine given the context of karate training, and the lack of a door or heavy object that required pushing, generally everyone would understand anyway.

Oosssss! That is how most Westerners say it – as if it rhymes with “book” and requires that one hiss like the snake in Jungle Book at the end. The word does not rhyme with book. There is an “oo” sound in the Japanese language that could be used to reproduce that noise, but it is not used here. The Japanese only have five vowels: a, i, u, e, and o. Respectively, they rhyme with clock, beep, book, set, and boat.

The one that should be used is the one that rhymes with “boat.” “Osu!” is not “ooooosssss!” It is properly pronounced “Oh-ss” and rhymes with coast, toast, and most. Wait a minute, The Japanese o vowel is a little more difficult than that.

Japanese does not have a diphthong o. A diphthong is a vowel sound that is actually comprised of two sounds put together in an extended and changing noise. The English o as in most to a Japanese sounds like m-oh-u-st. We stretch out the length of the sound, and we slowly close our lips from the o shape to the u shape as we say the word.

Japanese do not close their lips as they pronounce o. They only say the first half of the English o. So, to properly pronounce it, you have to imitate a Japanese. Wrong: “Ooosss!” Correct: “Os.”

The u at the end of the word is silent. You don’t have to pronounce it at all. But wait! The Japanese actually do always pronounce it because it is not truly silent. They only pronounce it for a quarter beat. It is ever so slight in some people’s speech, more noticeable in others, and not noticeable at all in the speech of many. It depends both on the accent of the Japanese in question and the Japanese pronunciation rules.

“Osu!”, as it turns out, is one of those words that just happens to utilize all of the most difficult pronunciation features of the Japanese language.

“Osu!”, as it turns out, is one of those words that just happens to utilize all of the most difficult pronunciation features of the Japanese language. When you say it, you are probably saying “usu” to the Japanese ear, which means “mill-stone.”

Oosu! The Japanese also have the ability to stretch out a vowel. This means that they speak the vowel sound for two beats instead of one. “osu” can be “o-osu.” Stretched out. This is very, very difficult for English speakers to learn, because our idea of long vowels is that they change pronunciation. Japanese long vowels are literally spoken longer. Since English has no “beat” the way Japanese does, it takes some practice to learn this. Some Japanese say “oosu!”, which still does not rhyme with book, but is a stretched out o noise – almost a diphthong like the English o. That’s why if you do the diphthong, Japanese are not confused. They heard you accidentally pronounce it correctly.

Ossu! Japanese also has long consonants. That means that you can make a k into a kk, and the meaning of the word changes. The s in “Osu!” can be stretched out a little, but not a lot as in ‘sssss’ like some sort of hissing noise. That is the third pronunciation: “Ossu!”

It is not correct to stretch both the o sound and the s sound. Doing this changes the meaning of the word. Unlike English, the Japanese language is very pronunciation sensitive. Mispronounce one word and you say another. The reason for this is that Japanese does not have many sounds, and so they are reused over and over again in different combinations until almost all of them are used up. If you say “boat” or “boot”, I can tell what you are saying from the context. Sometimes, the Japanese cannot, and sometimes they can. You find out when you see their reactions. It’s really cool to mix up words that are very similar, such as -Please wake me up- and -Please hop in the sack with me-, which sound almost identical. These sorts of misunderstandings make stays in Japan very interesting indeed.

Frequency of Use

Before I went to train in Japan, I used to use “Osu!” to mean hello, goodbye, OK, hi there, come here, go there, look at me, do it this way, do you understand, and I understand. In my karate club, “Osu!” was our secret word that we learned in karate, and we said it to each other at the door, during class, on the phone, and at the mall. We over-used it. We over-used it with prejudice.

Arriving in Japan I trained in several karate clubs, and none of them ever said “Osu!” to anyone except when everyone was lined up and bowed to the instructor. And then, I noticed that some were saying “Osu!” and some were saying “Onegaishimasu!”

Onegaishimasu is much more polite, as most long expressions in Japanese are more polite than their shorter cousins.

I started off in Japan ossing everyone in sight. I gradually reduced the usage of the word until I completely abandoned it except with a very few people.

Coming back to the United States, I’ve noticed that karate clubs here really use the word quite a lot more than I was used to in Japan. I found it quite surprising and somewhat grating on the ear when I first returned and heard what I considered to be over-usage, not just bad pronunciation, in every karate club I visited.

One person who read an earlier version of this article wrote to say,

I read Rob’s essays on the over use of Osu! in North American dojo and I couldn’t agree more. I trained in Japan for two years and only heard osu used as a greeting while I was getting changed before training. In the dojo I now train at in Canada Osu is used as a prefix and suffix to everything uttered. It’s the ultimate utility word which can mean anything you want it to. I find the whole situation embarrassing and I don’t want to take part in the osu festival. I make a point of saying hi to people when they yell osu at me. (It kind of reminds me of school when all the kids used to swear to fit in.) My Canadian wife, whom I met in Japan, popped in to the dojo one day and afterwards remarked “everyone seems really nice, but doesn’t it get on your nerves that they say osu all the time – it’s kind of stupid” it was then that I realized it wasn’t just me.

Another person wrote,

My “osu” story: I, like many of you, was brought up on karate. We “osu”ed a lot. – In recent years, I have “detoxified” myself of “osu” for no other reason than it was becoming overbearing in the dojo.

I-m afraid that using osu so much in a Shotokan Karate club may be one of those behaviors that possibly turns a lot of people off from karate lessons early on. Some people find it very difficult to convince themselves to walk into a karate school and even more difficult to join and put on the white pajamas. To then be confronted with instructions to bark out this weird word, and have people using it toward you all of the time, that might be a bit much for a lot of people.

Avoiding Offense

Since it is considered a rough, masculine expression in Japanese, “Osu!” opens the possibility that you will offend certain Japanese. When you use it with Japanese, be mindful of this, and be very careful to follow the appropriate usage. This will prevent you from offending someone, and it will allow your karate club to continue to use the word in a more accurate imitation of Japanese karate culture, if you are so inclined.

Not all karate clubs in Japan follow these conventions. It all depends on the instructor and his preferences.

Man to Man. “Osu!” is a masculine word. That means that for the most part, it is only spoken by men. Women who use the word are rare, and the few that do are very masculine in their appearance when they use it. This might include female karate instructors with young male students, coaches of athletic teams, or a woman who is trying use young people’s slang in order to identify with and get through to a boy.

“Osu!” is mostly used by men toward other men or boys. It is generally not directed at women, unless the women fall into the above exceptions and instruct their young charges to address them in that fashion.

Athletic Speak. “Osu!” is similar to “boo-yah” as heard spoken by a sports announcer. The word is rough and definitely associated with athletic activities, not just the martial arts. It is spoken by baseball players as well as those involved in sports like judo or karate.

Your Own Age Group. Except for the times noted above, “Osu!” is generally spoken toward people within the speaker’s own age group. I might bark “Osu!” to a man my own age the same way that I say “Dude!” or “Yo! What’s up!” It is appropriate to use it toward people your own age. As a non-polite expression, using it toward your friends is appropriate.

Your in-group. The Japanese are very sensitive to in-group and out-group. Polite speech is always outward away from your in-group and plain speech toward the in-group. So, when you use “Osu!” toward a man your age at the karate dojo, you are indicating that the two of your are comrades and are friends outside of class. For example, I might “osu” my friend of 20 years that I happen to take karate with, but I won’t “osu” another guy in the class my age whom I do not feel is one of my in-group.

As a greeting. “Osu!” is primarily a greeting. You use it toward other people, not toward an empty room when you bow. You don’t bark it out before you perform a kata, and you don’t yell it at judges in a tournament. You cannot really use it for “goodbye.” You could potentially use it to mean “Roger” or “Let’s go!” It is never a question and does not mean “I understand.”

Some people have read this article, and when faced with all of this information on “Osu!”, realize that they have been using it somewhat incorrectly all along, and they wish to stop using osu in order to avoid feeling silly. Then they don’t know what to say in its place in the situations where they used to say osu. Usually they first ask what we said in Japan instead of “Osu!”

We said nothing, usually. When my instructor walked up and down the aisles of trainees, and he corrected us, we looked straight ahead and did not acknowledge his corrections. Sometimes we nodded our heads. Japanese feel it is rude to respond to a lecturing instructor. They feel it is generally rude to speak during class. Far from interactive, the Japanese student stares blankly at you as you go through your lesson teaching things. I found this a little disturbing when I taught classes in Japan. If your instructor insists on an answer, then answer with “Hai!” or the more formal “Haa.”

If you are training outside of Japan, our own English language gives you many options. “Yes, sir” is a good one. Or try, “Yes.” “I understand.” “Understood.” “Affirmative.” You could say any of these things instead of an “Osu!” when addressed by an instructor looking for feedback.

To simplify things, think of it like you do any slang speech typical of teenagers. It is appropriate to use it toward your own group of friends, and inappropriate to use it toward those you have a more distant, polite relationship with.
There are some situations you might be careful in…

Women. Generally you don’t use “Osu!” toward women. Women in Japan have specific speech, and when men address them, in order to be polite, they tend to use a less rough and more gentle style to their speech. It sounds more sympathetic, more like the man is listening instead of competing and puffing his chest out. But these days, that doesn’t necessarily hold true. Some of the women in your karate club in Japan might be sort of masculine, and they like fitting in. They will use the word toward you, and you toward them. But keep in mind that sexual roles in Japan are somewhat more rigidly defined than in the West even today.

Toward Sensei or Not? Your instructor might ask you to use “Osu!” Mine specifically did not care for us using it toward him. We tended to use more polite expressions such as “Onegaishimasu.” He did not forbid us to use it, but he mentioned once or twice that I should back off on using it, and that he preferred polite speech. “It sounds like little boys.” he said on several occasions. I guess it all depends on what kind of person he is, and whether he likes being in the gang or aloof.

Toward strangers? “Osu!” is an in-group expression. It is best contained to your immediate group of friends. That does not mean your entire karate club. For example, if there are three of you on the karate club’s competition team, and the three of you are greeting each other at practice, that is a great time to use it. If someone not on the team walks up, you don’t use it toward them. It is a friendly expression, not a hostile or formal one, so using it toward your out-group is inappropriate. However, Mizutani’s study that I cited above showed that men in Japan consider other men to be jogging like them to be a temporary in-group.

Some karate clubs in North America encourage everyone to say “Osu!” to everyone else, whether they be visitors, parents, children, women, men, friends, or people you don’t really like. That is technically incorrect usage. In a Japanese karate club, when you see this done, usually it is simply the uncouth behavior of young jocks showing through, not an example of the technically correct way to use the word. In the same way, you cannot expect 15 year old Americans to always say “Dude!” appropriately. In fact, you can expect them to never use it appropriately.

Through observations of others, you can learn to use any word in any language appropriately, if you watch the right people. At least if you contain your enthusiasm to the club-s practices, you will avoid offending anyone or making anyone feel uncomfortable. When new people show up, find out how they feel about it before using it toward them.

“Osu!” is not unique, and using it a lot for many different things is certainly no crime against humanity. At worst, it’s merely annoying for a very few people outside of Japan, and only some people in Japan might find it annoying, unless you just use it way too often for everyone-s taste.

Esprit De Corps

Many people like the effect it has on the feeling of teamwork and togetherness. Sometimes noise words bring a group closer together. Esprit de Corps is that feeling you get when you know that you are part of a good team. You work well together, you trust each other, you know you will all sacrifice for the others if need be. It is the Holy Grail in team sports and the military. If a drill instructor in the Army can build esprit de corps into his troops, they will never fail one another, and their chances of success improve dramatically.

The United States Marine Corps excels at this training. In order to achieve it, they use many different training techniques. But one of the cultural features of the Marine Corps is their bark. “AaaooO!” Marines will bark like big dogs if motivated to do so by success, or simply by showing how pumped up and ready to roll they are.

I’ve worked with several Marine students who continued to bark instead of using “Osu!” One thing I noticed about them in karate classes was that when asked if they were ready, they used to answer in very loud, assertive voices, “Anytime! Anywhere! Let’s rock!” or something to that effect. Psyching themselves and each other up seemed to be a given with them.

Marines don’t simply answer their leaders with “Yes, sir.” They yell it out. Marines also say things like “Hurrah!” and “Semper Fi”, Latin for “Always True” (Semper Fidelis). Marines have expressions like “Every man a rifle man.” And, unlike other branches of service, which have enlisted soldiers and officers of the service branches, every marine is called “Marine.” Boys join the Marine Corps as individuals, and they end up members of a team that they are particularly proud to be in.

That is the very essence of esprit de corps.

There are other noise words out there both in the military and elsewhere that are used for the same purpose. The Army has its “Hooah!” ESPN commentators have been yelling “Booyah!” when someone scores a goal. Some Americans yell “Yeehaw!” Southern Americans have always been famous for the Rebel Yell which they screamed during the Civil War and even today when cheering using a noise like “Woooo!!!”

“Osu!” has become such a word in the Shotokan community. It is used by participants to feel esprit de corps, to feel at home when they are not at home, and to express masculinity, aggressiveness, assertiveness, and enthusiasm.

It would be really easy to do what I have done in this article and over-analyze your usage of a single word toward other people. If you already speak Japanese, this really must seem like overkill in terms of explanation. But for those who will never read a kanji as long as they live, such a long-winded article might be educational.

Shit talk the Kiai all you want, its legit, Oss is like the man Bun of BJJ and 'Porrada everyday" is their mating call

Cant hold me down, I porrada every day

Lol ... you are killing me Jay