If you look at the word “Osu” written in the original Chinese it is comprised of two
characters. The first character is defined as “push”. The second character is defined as
SHINOBU which means endure any hardship, in training or in our daily lives. It is also used
as a greeting or reply with the connotation as a sign of your willingness to follow a particular
teacher or way of training.
The word “OSU” implies to push oneself to the limit of their ability and to endure. In the
Shiya-do school, it is a greeting of great respect and can also be used to replace words and
phrases such as “yes”, “all right”, “good”, “I will do it”, “I will try hard” and “excuse me”. In fact
a student is expected to never say “Hi” to his seniors but say “OSU” instead.
In Japan the only people who use “Osu” are usually those engaging in the Martial Arts. In
most companies you will hear “osu”, but it is usually a lazy way of saying “Ohayo gozaimasu”
(Good Morning).
The word encompasses infinite variation of meanings. “OSU” at its simplest, means
“perseverance under pressure”. At it’s most profound it’s a plea deep inside a person to
overcome the frailties of the human condition. The single word expresses the philosophy of
karate. A good student is expected to have the “Spirit of Osu” This is the underlying force
of tradition which affects the karate practitioner’s execution of duties, physical training and
human interaction.
The most important aspect of the word “Osu” is that we must not let the word, through
repeated overuse with no feeling, lose its meaning of reminding ourselves to always train as
hard as possible. It must come from the heart and really have meaning.
OSU!
characters. The first character is defined as “push”. The second character is defined as
SHINOBU which means endure any hardship, in training or in our daily lives. It is also used
as a greeting or reply with the connotation as a sign of your willingness to follow a particular
teacher or way of training.
The word “OSU” implies to push oneself to the limit of their ability and to endure. In the
Shiya-do school, it is a greeting of great respect and can also be used to replace words and
phrases such as “yes”, “all right”, “good”, “I will do it”, “I will try hard” and “excuse me”. In fact
a student is expected to never say “Hi” to his seniors but say “OSU” instead.
In Japan the only people who use “Osu” are usually those engaging in the Martial Arts. In
most companies you will hear “osu”, but it is usually a lazy way of saying “Ohayo gozaimasu”
(Good Morning).
The word encompasses infinite variation of meanings. “OSU” at its simplest, means
“perseverance under pressure”. At it’s most profound it’s a plea deep inside a person to
overcome the frailties of the human condition. The single word expresses the philosophy of
karate. A good student is expected to have the “Spirit of Osu” This is the underlying force
of tradition which affects the karate practitioner’s execution of duties, physical training and
human interaction.
The most important aspect of the word “Osu” is that we must not let the word, through
repeated overuse with no feeling, lose its meaning of reminding ourselves to always train as
hard as possible. It must come from the heart and really have meaning.
OSU!
"OSU"
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SHIYA-DO MARTIAL ARTS CENTER, INC.
7485 State Route 32, Cairo, NY 12413 (518) 622-9211
7485 State Route 32, Cairo, NY 12413 (518) 622-9211