As many of you know, I had a right hip replacement done ten days ago. Since then, the recovery has been amazing.

The surgical pain and muscle soreness have steadily gone down. A few days ago, I shifted from a walker to a cane. I tried unassisted walking yesterday. Nope, I have not recovered to the point where I can do without a cane. All that said, I am very happy with the recovery.

However, I am far from getting back into active, hands-on teaching. As the surgeon pointed out, the recovery period from the surgery will take six to eight weeks. “Think of it as recovering from a bone fracture.”

The recovery process is, literally, a step-by-step journey. My first goal is to walk without a limp, so my daily goal is to work on a smooth gait—slow and deliberate movement. I am not concerned at all with speed. I used a walker inside the house for eight days after surgery. Recently, I started using a cane and can now walk comfortably.

As of now, I am not able to walk unassisted. There is too much pain and weakness on the right side. Let’s see where I am in a week or two. I’ll get there.

At today’s follow-up appointment, the surgeon expressed his pleasure with my progress and told me to stick with the current hip exercise regimen. He advised me to add side lift exercises four weeks after the surgery.

This experience has driven home the need to be patient as my body heals from this major surgery. Further, it drives home the need to focus on the process instead of the outcome. The focus is on recovering from the surgery and establishing a smooth gait. I’m not thinking about martial arts training or teaching. Patience and deliberate movement.

Well, dang, doesn’t that sound like martial arts? Heck yes! When learning a new martial art technique, one should be patient in learning new ways of moving your body and moving deliberately until it can be done without thinking.

That’s where I currently am with walking—just that. I’m not even thinking about martial arts footwork.

YouTube Shorts

Before the surgery, I shot a bunch of Shorts. I will publish two or three of them weekly and hope you get something out. of them!

I demonstrate a quick counter to Alex’s abanico attempt. In essence, I am doing a counter abanico. How cool is that? Good reaction speed and timing are required to pull off this counter. With practice, it’s not that hard. But you still must practice!

I’m also posting Hip Replacement Shorts on my YouTube Channel. They’re not exactly racking up views, but I’m having fun with them—they’re short and sweet!

If you are more into videos than reading blogs, here’s a recent update about my post-surgery journey. I’ll post daily Shorts about my progress and thoughts on returning to normalcy. Check them out! My mentality is that it’s NOW OR NEVER!

Additional Reading