In the word 拳術 'Quanshu' (boxing; fighting; fist skills) and 武術 'Wushu' (martial; military skills) there is the character 術 Shu (skill; art; method; technique; road).
術 'Shu' is comprised of a phonetic: 朮 'shu' and 行 'Xing' (meaning to walk; proceed down a road).
行 'Xing' consists of the character 彳'chì' (step with the left foot) and 亍 'chù' (step with the right foot).
術 'Shu' (skill/ art/ method/ technique/ road) is a classifier for any path or endeavor in which a person has to diligently study and practice everyday to become skillful at it.
It's a long road where one strives to move forward, make progress, and eventually gain a high level of skill by taking one step after the other, never giving up.
A line from the 道德經 Dàodéjīng says:
千里之行, 始于足下
{Embarking on a long journey begins with one small step.}
The Japanese word 'Su' is the same character: 術 which in Chinese is pronounced Shu.
Japanese 'Do' is 道 dào (road; path). The older meaning of 術 is also (road; path) or actually 'Walking down the middle of a road'.
He Jinbao said in a lecture: 術 Shu signifies that your martial skill is so advanced that you could walk straight down the middle of the road and everyone gets out of your way, people avert their eyes and look down at the ground because you're the scariest person on that road.
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