Oss (greeting)



Oss also Osu (Japanese: おす or おっす) is a casual greeting in Japanese typically associated with male practitioners of Japanese martial arts such as karate, kendo, and judo.

"Oss!" is used outside Japan by some practitioners of Japanese martial arts and derived systems, e.g. Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

There are various theories as to its origin, but the term is believed to have originated before WWII in the Imperial Japanese Navy, at the Kyoto Budo Senmon Gakko of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai, or the sumo club at Takushoku University. It is a rough contraction of ohayō gozaimasu (おはようございます). In addition to use as a greeting, oss! can also function as "yessir!" when a subordinate is brusquely questioned by a teacher, superior officer, or sempai.

It has also spread overseas as OSU or OSS, mainly in the Brazilian Jiu- Jitsu and Karate communities.

"Oss" can be written in kanji as 押忍 but these are ateji applied after the term became common.