The terms Jutsu, Do and Ho have different meanings and may be best understood by imagining a mountain, like Tanemura sensei used to say. In this context, Jutsu would explain the way the mountain is climbed – the technique. Do would indicate the system of roads available which lead to the peak of the mountain; some are more difficult, others are more pleasant. Do is not a term that is used strictly in martial arts, it may be applied in other activities such as dancing, music, painting. Martial arts which use the term do want to achieve climbing the mountain. There are rarely found masters who have achieved this goal because (as Ono sensei said) very often the peak of a mountain is covered by clouds and when the master reaches the half of the mountain, he cannot see the peak because of the clouds. He looks down and when he sees how far he has come he believes he has reached the peak. But assuming the peak of the mountain has been reached, then comes the natural question: what more could be reached?

Ho (read in some combinations with other Kanji Po) represents the clouds on the sky which cover the peak. Those who practice martial arts and use the term Ho, reach these clouds, enjoying the pleasant encounter of nature and, therefore living forever. The Kanji for Ho is formed of two parts: the first part represents the foundation which means water, sansui, and the second part, which means saru symbolizes the idea of “moving forward”. When bringing the two terms together we reach “the water that is moving forward”, but at a higher level it represents the circuit of water in the nature. From the clouds in the sky falls rain on the mountain, it flows down the mountain and it creates a river. The river combines with other rivers and forms a stream which eventually reaches the sea. From there, the water will rise up to the sky where it will become a cloud again. This is the eternal law of the circuit of water represented by Ho.