To Osu or not to Osu???

Osu is the one word that you’ll hear the most in a Kyokushin dojo or at a Kyokushin tournament.  When you enter or leave the dojo, you bow and say “Osu”.  When you greet a fellow Kyokushin karateka, you say “Osu” instead of “hello”.  When you respond to an instruction or question in class, you say “Osu” instead of “yes” or “I understand”.  When performing kihon waza (basic techniques) in class, each technique is often accompanied with a loud “Osu”.  When practicing jiyu kumite (free fighting) in class and your opponent lands a good, hard technique, you say “Osu” to acknowledge your opponent’s skill.  As a measure of respect, knockdown fighters at a tournament bow and say “Osu” to the front, to the referee and to each other, before and after the fight.  Osu is used in many situations and seems to mean a lot of things.  But what does it really mean?

Oshi meaning “Push”, and

Shinobu meaning “to Endure”

The maning of this word OSU —–Oshi Shinobu means  ..”Persevere while being pushed”.

It means strive forward when you are being pushed back.

Meaning …whatever difficulty comes in front of you and  is an obstacle to your achievement, resist it, put all your effort against that resistance. Persist against the odds. Persevere against the vicissitudes of every difficulty that life throws at you. push back with every ounce of strength that you can muster. In other words…..OSU!!!