“Oss!” “You keep using that word, but I don’t think it means what you think it means.”

One way to tell if someone is an idiot in the martial arts is if they use the word “Osu”. Sometimes it is spelled “Oss.” If you see someone using that term, stay away from them.

Yes it is a real Japanese word. The word “nigger” is part of English. But would you use it freely, or be cautions?

Most people reading this are martial artists. Most martial artists at one point or another get around to seeing Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan in “Rush Hour”. So I am assuming most of you have seen the movie.

Remember that scene when Tucker comes into a place where another black man is working and says, “What’s up my nigger?” Chan sees the exchange and says nothing at the time. But later, he uses the same term with another black man and it leads to trouble.

Well, “osu” is like that. If you are a native Japanese speaker you probably know when and where it is appropriate. Some Japanese will never let it come out of their mouths. Those that do, know when using it would blow up in their face. Forget anyone who is not Japanese using it. That is like Jackie Chan using that naughty word in the movie.

You can find entire sections of Facebook where people throw the term around, trying to sound like tough Japanese martial artists. It only shows they are idiots to my eyes. I have even seen them try to use it with esteemed Japanese martial artists that have a presence on the internet, and then they seem curious as to why they are dropped as friends or treated cooly after that.

It is a case of someone taking a little knowledge about something and trying to run with it to appear more knowledgeable about Japanese martial arts than they are. And in the process, they spread a very bad habit to others. It is kind of like the whole situation about martial arts, with guys that have no idea about how Japanese martial arts work and move like pregnant yaks, calling themselves soke, hanshi, anshu or some other silly title to impress others.

Well, if you use ‘oss’, you are an idiot. If you don’t use it, don’t start and stay far away from anyone you have seen using it. Stick with people that either know enough to not use it, or take caution to not do things that they don’t have full knowledge about. That approach is far better in the long run and is lacking in the people running around in Texas and elsewhere screaming “OSS!” to impress others.

What more needs to be said? Don’t use “Oss” even if you see Japanese using it. They know when to use it, you don’t.

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