Hoho

Hohō (Step Method) is the name given to one of the four combat skills of the Shinigami and relates to footwork.

Overview
Hohō is an important skill for most Shinigami. The agility and speed of Hohō can be enhanced and improved through mastery of it, concentration, and training. The foremost practitioners of this technique are those assigned to the Onmitsukidō, or those in 4th Company's 4th Relief Team. Shunpo (Flash steps) is the most commonly used Hohō technique. However, there are variations even within Shunpo and other Hohō techniques that only master Hohō practitioner can use.
 * Characters with a 100 in Mobility are Flash Step Masters.
 * Characters with a 70 or higher in Mobility are Shunpo Experts.
 * Characters with a 40 or higher in Mobility are Shunpo Practitioners.
 * Characters with lower than 40 in Mobility do not know Shunpo.

Techniques
Shunpo, a movement technique that allows the user to move faster than the eye can follow. The focal point that determines the bases of this technique is speed. As speed is the main point of the technique the method is best characterized by how fast one can get from point A to point B in the least amount of steps. Training and skill are what determines how fast a user of Shunpo can move; those of little skill in the technique or those who haven't used it an extended amount of time would obviously be out of practice, causing those individuals to be considerably slower, which requires the use of more steps to move the same distance and become winded far easier in a shorter amount of time. The Arrancar variation of Shunpo is Sonído and the Quincy variation of is Hirenkyaku.


 * Senka (Flash Blossom): a special Shunpo technique where one moves to their opponents back. Directly attacking and sealing one's "Saketsu (Chain Binding)" and "Hakusui (Soul Sleep)" in one strike. The movement is so fast that an opponent may not be able to tell whether he was attacked from the front or the back and even an outside observer may find it impossible to tell what the movements are.


 * Utsusemi (Cicada): It allows for a movement at great speed leaving an afterimage behind. The afterimage may even appear to have taken damage.
 * Shunkō (Flash Cry): An advanced secret battle technique that combines the grappling technique of Hakuda and the incantation technique of Kidō. It is an ultra-powerful technique in which one drives Kidō into one's arms and legs. The Kidō itself can also be controlled and fired at opponents from the body. Shunko is known only to the highest ranking Shinigami within the Onmitsukido.
 * S3 Techniques - They all require mastery over Shunpo, by focusing Shunpo into arms, legs, or fingers, the user can temporarily move at light-speeds, for the cost of a lot of energy and Reiatsu.

Shunpo Masters
Masters of the technique are obviously by far the fastest beings within Soul Society. Maintaining high speed movements for extended periods of time while only using the least amount of steps to achieve those movements. Masters are capable of using Advanced steps which are considerably harder to initiate. A master can possibly create new techniques but it is most likely a rare occurrence. (Note only those who have trained and achieved mastery either stated or shown, outside any advantage they gain from Shikai, Bankai or otherwise are included in this listing).

Shunpo Experts
Experts of the technique are considerably fast and are capable of maintaining high speed movements for extended periods of time. While not as fast as a master they can keep up quite effectively. Some holding the title are faster than others but none the less their application of the technique is highly advanced.

Shunpo Practitioners
Practitioners of the technique can maintain fast movements for a short period of time, by seemingly taking only a few steps to bridge what would normally be a large distances. Those who are practitioners commonly use their knowledge of Hohō while engaging in combat to close the space between combatants. Those practitioners that maintain these high speeds for too long tend to become winded.

Those Who Have yet to learn Shunpo
Those in this category possesses no skill for Hohō and instead rely on walking to get where they need to be or have trained extensively to enhance their natural speed to a level allowing them move considerably fast though decidedly under that of Shunpo.