Its the Principle of the thing.

"As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have always been fascinated by the principles of the martial arts, which in turn lead me to look for the principles in everything in my life. Consider principles the essence of everything you do, with out principles to guide our methods then there is no substance to anything. I try my best to never do anything in my training just for the sake of doing it, or just because so and so did it. I always ask myself if I am training a certain way because it works for me and I understand it or just because it is what everyone else is doing.

To me there is no best method to do something, method implies something that is set in stone. Principles are adaptable to many things and they allow you to evolve and adapt regardless of your chosen endeavor.