When he's not in scrubs, Thomas Rahlfs, M.D., is apt to be wearing a Japanese hakama with a traditional katana at his side, reminiscent of a samurai warrior. For Rahlfs, department chair for Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, martial arts is more than a hobby. It's a way of life.

Born in Midland, Texas, Thomas Rahlfs, M.D., knew from an early age he wanted to be a doctor after reading Doctor Dolittle stories in the third...