KYU: To desire, seek, search after. Ordinarily we say "study" but Kyu really implies a deeper level of commitment, with an inner need to discover truth.

SHIN: A heart, a mind, a spirit, the internal nature of a thing. This means the fundamental nature of anything. The nexus point through which all things pass, or a central point that connects all things.

DO: A path, a road, a way.

Kyushindo in a basic sense therefore means:
"To follow the path of seeking the fundamental nature and essential essence of all things".
However, just to perform a series of [martial art] techniques in a special way - and/or to follow all the moral precepts of Kyushindo philosophy; this is not, in itself, to follow Kyushindo.

Kyushindo [martial art] Budo is only the outward or 'seeable' result of an internal condition and is not the theory itself.

To practice Kyushindo means to apply the total effort of mind, body and spirit toward deep research and investigation of anything.

Kyushindo in relation to Martial Art - with Budo as the highest form.
Because Kenshiro Abbe was a great martial artist we may be inclined to mistake Kyushindo for a physical technique that is, just the same as any other Budo martial art, supported by a moral and philosophical system. This is not entirely so. The true relationship of martial art and Kyushindo is that one e.g. Kyushindo ("… seeking the fundamental nature and essential essence of things") - provides a highly suitable framework within which the other may be studied and further explored. Initially and in this instance, the 'other' is martial art or Budo, but any 'other thing' would be equally valid, suitable, compatible and indeed, interchangeable.

Martial art is a just single relatively insignificant aspect of life; therefore it is not possible to reach an understanding of Kyushindo by study of martial art alone.