If you spend more than 5 minutes in a BJJ class, or talk with a Jiu Jitsu athlete for a minute or longer, you’re probably going to hear the word (if it is a word?) OSS.
But just what does oss mean?
While it’s a little bit of an in-joke in BJJ circles nowadays – you’ll see a lot of BJJ people use oss to replace just about any word in any situation (including on this site) – there is a historical significance to this term… believe it or not!
Read on for the most important lesson for any BJJ beginner… learning the OSS meaning, and how and when to use the power of oss.
The Japanese Roots of OSS’ Meaning
The most commonly agreed-upon definition of oss is as short for “onegai shimasu”. This is a Japanese term used as a polite, formal way of requesting something.
It’s essentially a token of respect. Think of it like inviting a partner to train, and politely asking their permission to train with them.
There is another theory that the term “oss” is in fact “osu” (pronounced the same way as oss – the “u” is not pronounced). Osu is a contraction of the phrase “oshi shinobu”. This means, roughly, to “push through and endure”.
It’s easy to see the correlation between this phrase and its use in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. BJJ is a martial art that puts a lot of value in one’s ability to struggle and overcome adversity, whether it’s in a single roll or entire BJJ journey.
Both these definitions of oss trace back to the Japanese origins of BJJ, when Mitsuyo Maeda introduced the spirit of Japanese martial arts to Brazil and the Gracie familia.
The exact root of the term is unknown, however – unless you’re able to hop in a time machine and ask Mitsuyo Maeda, Carlos Gracie or Helio Gracie yourself.
When Should You Say OSS?
As a beginner, you’ll hear OSS thrown around here, there and everywhere. It can understandably lead to confusion and anxiety. You want to join in the OSS party, but you don’t want to embarrass yourself by using it in the wrong situation!
Here are some situations when oss is appropriate:
- Start of class
- End of class
- Greeting instructor/teammates
- Start of a roll
- End of a roll
- Belt promotion (yours)
- Belt promotion (other’s)
- A brand new Gi arrives
- After getting caught in a good submission
- You meet a Jiu Jitsu buddy in the street
- You see someone you don’t know wearing a Jiu Jitsu academy shirt
- A competitor hits a good sweep, takedown or submission when you’re watching a comp
- Someone does BJJ in a UFC fight
- Demian Maia wins
- You see a good BJJ meme
- Getting married
- Finishing a tasty bowl of açaí
Is That It? What Does Oss Really Mean?
A lot of people want to overthink the meaning of oss. If you want to be really serious about it, think of it as an expression of respect and politeness, towards your instructor, your training partners, and the sport as a whole.
Realistically, there is no literal meaing for oss. It’s more like a “kiai” in martial arts like Karate and Taekwondo. While we don’t really have a kiai in Braziian Jiu Jitsu, oss has the same effect. It represents the spirit of BJJ, while paying respect to the Japanese roots of the sport, brougth over to Brazil (and eventually the rest of the world) by Mitsuyo Maeda.
If you want to reserve your OSS for showing gratitude and respect towards professors or upper belts, go ahead. If you want to use it as an exclamation after every sweep or pass, feel free to do this too.
You can also use OSS as a replacement for every other word in a sentence, so anyone you talk to knows you’re at least a 3-stripe white belt. The world is yours.
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