Were I to state three major attributes possessed by an exponent of any martial art, they would be these three: strength, flexibility and power. These, combined with the extreme fitness and rapid reflexes of any athlete, are essential components in one who would profess to possess the skills required of a master of any martial art.

Let us discuss each of these individually. First strength. Strength is the body's potential to exert force, and is gained by conditioning the muscles of the body by imposing increasingly higher demands upon them by an opposing force. To put it in simple terms, this can be achieved by lifting weights, where the muscles are extended when overcoming the force of gravity on an object, or by isometric exercises where the muscles are not moved but exerted against an immovable object such as a wall or another equal set of muscles.

An example of an isometric exercise is pressing the palms of the hands against each other. Neither will force the other back, but constant pressure will increase the blood flow in the muscle and increase the size and hence the strength of the muscular fibers. The old Charles Atlas method.

The Russian Special Forces train by the former method using Russian kettlebells. Kettlebells are weights with a ring and handle so that they can be lifted. Using kettlebells every part of your body can be worked, building the supreme strength required of a master of his or her art.

Flexibility is essential and is attained through continual practice of dynamic relaxation techniques. Flexibility is supreme relaxation of the muscles and joints of the body. It was said by the karate master George Matson that "Achieving complete control over your muscles is perfection." The Russian Cossacks achieved this by continually cutting into water with their sabres, keeping the muscles totally relaxed and tensing only at the moment of strike.

This build up so much strength and flexibility that they could slice an opponent from the shoulder to the hip with a light sabre. Gruesome though this may seem, the same techniques are used to this day, only the sabres and water have been replaced with axes and logs by Russian boxing coaches.

Finally power. Power differs from strength in that it is the body's ability to exert force in any one direction. Size and strength are nothing if the big guy can't exert a punch in the exact direction it should be exerted. Power depends on the use of strength and the levers of the body to exert maximum force in exactly the right direction. That is what makes the difference between a student and a master of martial arts.

The master understands the reflexes and use of the central nervous system to use the levers of the body to direct the maximum power possibly from the strength of the muscles to a single point. The student aims the fist at the same point with possibly more strength, but with only a fraction of the power.

Extreme fitness training and teaching in the combination of the levers of the body and the power of the muscles to produce supreme martial arts ability is essential to anyone who wants to become a master of his martial art.

American John Du Cane professes that through the teaching of the Chinese art of qigong you can attain the degree of vitality required to attain complete martial flexibility. Russian Pavel Tsatsouline, on the other hand, teaches the secrets of Russian kettlebell training as provided to the Russian special forces, and how the combination of the supreme strength developed by the kettlebells combines with the flexibility of qigong to provide true supreme martial arts power.