The Six Million Dollar Man was one of my favourite shows growing up in the 1970s. I also loved the spin-off, The Bionic Woman. I confess that I had a crush on Lindsay Wagner, who played Jaime Sommers, the Bionic Woman. 🙂 Anyway, I watched every episode of both shows and loved them. Of all the opening credits, the Six Million Dollar easily tops the list.

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Like any kid in the 1970s, I fantasized about running at 60 mph and other superhuman feats. On the other hand, the notion that humans could be improved with bionic surgical implants seemed fantastical at the time. “This is just science fiction and will never become a reality.” While we are not quite at the bionic age, we are in the era of unbelievable medical technology.

Some of you already know this, but I have cochlear implants and a tube shunt implant in my right eye. This week, I’ll be having my right hip replaced. I look forward to getting this procedure done and having a pain-free life.

Until spring 2019, I accumulated 10,000 or more steps per day. Since then, that has declined to less than 1,500 per day. There is no doubt that the lack of mobility due to inflammation and pain has had an impact on my physical fitness. It’s getting harder to keep the pounds off! All the more reason for me to get the right hip replaced. I have a burning desire to return to my former physical activity level.

All that said, I am very thankful that we live in the rapidly advancing medical technology era.

Let’s say we were living in 1923 instead of 2023. Where would I be?

I would not be able to speak as well as I do now. One needs to hear human speech to imitate it. No hearing device, no speech. At best, hard to understand guttural speech. Simple as that.

I was diagnosed with glaucoma in 1993 when I was 29. Left untreated, I would have become blind within 3 to 5 years. Fortunately, I’m doing well thirty years later with medication, surgery and regular checkups.

Let’s go back to 1923. There is little doubt that I would have been blind. So, a blind and deaf man with barely intelligible speech. I would have been unemployable and institutionalized. Add a bad hip to the equation, and it gets rather gloomy.

Is it any wonder I’m thrilled to live in 2023 with good eyesight, amazing cochlear implants and a new hip soon?

The recovery will take some time, but I aim to teach private lessons again by May or June.

While I may not become the bionic version of the Six Million Dollar Man, I probably will feel like $6 Million after I recover from this week’s surgery.

From a martial arts perspective, I would not be able to teach without today’s medical marvels—no freaking way. I look forward to returning to teaching after fully recovering from the hip replacement surgery! I’ll learn more about recovery at the pre-operative appointment tomorrow (Jan 24th).

This Week’s Video

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I emphasize the lifting skill as well as two thrusts. If you notice, I executed the cross-body thrust after the same side version and took Alex by surprise. See 1:18 of the video. It should not have been a surprise since we rehearsed the drill before turning the camera on. 🙂

For those who have asked me, no, I do not require my students to memorize the variations of the flow drills. At a minimum, they should know the 20 basic drills. The variations are for extra fun and further skill development. After all, why do the same 20 drills over and over? The flow drill variations are designed to drill the same movements anyway.

The Most Recent YouTube Short

I will publish YouTube Shorts of empty-hand translations of stick material over the next few weeks. Here’s one that came out today:

What do you think? Let me know!

Additional Reading