The name of the art "yō-sei-kan" is derived from three Japanese characters, "yō" meaning 'teaching', "sei" meaning "truth", "kan" meaning "place", which may be translated roughly into English as "the place where the truth is taught" or alternately "place for practising what is right". The intent of the name was not to assert an exclusive possession of the truth regarding the martial arts but rather to describe how the comprehensive nature of the Yoseikan training environment allows an individual to discover their own sense of "truth" by studying a wide range of differing martial techniques, philosophies and principles.