The irresistible charm of dexterity

Unlike today's fitness industry that places extreme emphasis on either physical attributes (strength, power, speed etc) or physical appearance, folk wisdom values dexterity (the ability of an "intelligent body" to spontaneously solve problems that arise out of the interaction with one's environment) very highly. The epics, fairy tales and proverbs of cultures from all around the world praise dexterity consistently - the famous Bible legend of yound David who beat the giant Goliath using his wits and skill is one of the first to pop in mind. Russian - Jewish neurophysiologist and pioneer of the science of biomechanics N.A. Bernstein included the following fable (presumably of Russian origin) in his classic text On Dexterity and Its Development. I find it very inspiring so I thought I should share it:
"The father sent his three sons to travel around the world and to learn wisdom. In three years, the sons were back and told the father that one of them had learned the skills of the barber, the second one had learned the profession of the blacksmith, and the third one had become a fencer.
The father asked them all to sit in front of the house and to wait for a chance to demonstrate their skills. The one who bested the brothers would inherit the house and all the valuables.
They sat for a short while and saw a large hare hopping across the field.
'This one is just for me', said the barber. He took his instruments, ran after the hare, put foam on its muzzle, and shaved it clean without cutting the skin.
'Yes', said the father, "You are certainly a great master. If your brothers do not do something amazing, the house will be yours'.
'Wait a minute, daddy', said the second son, the blacksmith.
And exactly at that time, a carriage appeared on the road pulled by a pair of trotters. The blacksmith grabbed his tools, ran after the carriage, tore off all eight horseshoes and replaced them with new oneswithout stopping the carriage.
'Wow', said the father, 'I can see that you also did not waste your time. I don't know who is more dexterous of you too. Your brother will have a hard time catching his elder brothers'.
He had just spoken these words, when it started to rain. The father and the two elder sons crawled under the bench while the third son, the fencer, remained outside. He drew out his sword and sterted to swing it over his head hitting away each drop of water. The rain grew harder and harder and eventually it started to pour. But the younger son just swung his sword quicker and quicker and managed to deflect every drop according to the perfect rules of fencing, so that he remained as dry as if he were sitting under an umbrella.
The father could not make a choice and divided his estate between all three sons. That was the only smart thing to do".
I really don't know what made things change so much since the times when people recounted fables as cool as this, but it seems to me that nowadays dexterity is underrated or rather, ignored, especially in the world of martial arts and combat training, in favour of crude physical attributes, such as strength, speed and endurance. If you just perform a search on the internet, you will mostly find people obsessed with numbers: it's always about how much weight one can move, how many reps of a given exercise one can perform in a given amount of time or for how long can one continously perform one exercise before exhausting himself. And then there are the people obsessed with appearance - the "six-pack, the "big guns" (biceps, that is), and the shoulders that look as if you can rest the world on top of them. Especially in North America this "notion" of cosmetic muscle building is so pervasive that some people believe Fedor Emelianenko can't really fight, since he looks like a fat guy!


Now, please don't misunderstand me, I'm not claiming that strength, speed and endurance are not important physical attributes, and of course, if you're interested in improving your chances of getting laid, a six-pack might come handy:-) But, just take a moment to think about this: why does one want to train in martial arts? Is it because he wishes to overcome an opponent who is weaker, slower and less enduring? Of course not! And what other than dexterity is it that gives an average David a chance at victory over Goliath?
Unlike strength, speed or endurance, dexterity is a versatile capacity, it applies in many fields - in everyday life, in sports, or in war. It is accesible to everyone and it is exercisable, it can be developed. And, according to N.A. Bernstein, "it builds a bridge to the area of genuine intellect. It is an accumulation of life experiences in the field of movements and actions. For this reason, dexterity frequently increases with age and is preserved until later years more than other psychophysical capacities" [my bold].
Do you want to be a great martial artist? Just build a good base in physical conditioning and then move on to dexterity - it is not muscular adaptation you're after in the long run, it is neuro-muscular adaptation. Train movements, not muscles, and make sure you analyze the physiological aspects and biomechanics of each movement (or if you can't do that just ask help from someone who can).
In order to get inspired, just check out the following video I found on YouTube, of people swinging heavy objects around. Then compare the stuff these guys are doing with what the "monster lifters" of the two videos above are doing. Honestly now - which ones impress you the most???

And lastly, here's one last video for all of you who favour David in a match-up against Goliath. Fedor may look like just a fat guy, but man, can he fight!!!