All about those Hips

Discussion on the three big Chinese internals, Yiquan, Bajiquan, Piguazhang and other similar styles.

All about those Hips

Postby rojcewiczj on Mon Feb 06, 2017 2:21 pm

The arms are just the arms. You can do some push ups, rotate them around the air, make them strong and loose, thats enough. The arms are just the arms, thats all. There is
one part of the body which the entire body is moved by; the hips. You can move your spine around your hips, you can move your legs around your hips, you can move your arms by moving your hips. Oh
those wonderful hips. How simple and great to wrestle, strike, or just dance all by moving the hips. I've found that, even after many years, I still have progress to make in the mobility of my hips. Why?
Because the whole body relates to those joints, my back must become stronger, my legs must become stronger, as well as more flexible, if I want to get more use out of my hips. Speed? Powerful hips are a sprinters secret. Power?
Powerful hips unite the whole body strength. I often hear talk of "following the principle" in martial arts, which often remain abstract after many years. Practitioners become proficient in the form but remain average in application. Why is that? Look at your body, your are essentially a pair of hips with arms attached, the hips being the engine behind the whole bodies movement, the arms being, well, just attached. So why do think your going to have remarkable movement skill without having remarkably capable hips? So yes do your stances and forms , but also realize, that bobbing and weaving, leaping and lunging, touching your toes or doing a back bend, are all functions of the hips. Lately in my solo practice, I have removed the arms movement entirely so that I can focus on the hips. Without your arms you are still a powerful animal, capable of controlling your body weight with the agility your hips can manifest. With your arms but without hips, your are little more than a scarecrow that can exert some limited force.
rojcewiczj
Anjing
 
Posts: 226
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2015 10:09 am

Re: All about those Hips

Postby GrahamB on Mon Feb 06, 2017 2:46 pm

Image
One does not simply post on RSF.
The Tai Chi Notebook
User avatar
GrahamB
Great Old One
 
Posts: 13553
Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 3:30 pm

Re: All about those Hips

Postby Dmitri on Mon Feb 06, 2017 3:10 pm

rojcewiczj wrote:I have removed the arms movement entirely

Sorry but strictly speaking, that's not possible. You may have "tried to minimize" your arm movement... you cannot eliminate it entirely.

As a side note/thought -- your body is a/one (whole) thing, one unit, it's not a collection of joins and muscle groups and limbs and organs. From your toenails to your brain, it's one single thing, all unified and all functioning simultaneously. The only exception is when something goes wrong, e.g. you are paralyzed or otherwise physically lose part of your natural/"normal" range of function. While training to focus on one thing or another may yield specific benefits, in the end the only natural wholesome thing to do is to involve everything in your movement; better "unification" should be the ultimate goal, IMHO.

Another side note -- "hips" don't have much "power" of their own (I'm assuming you're not talking about the kind of power Scarlett Johansson's hips have -- this would be the wrong forum for that :)). They (hips) can transmit power, but they don't produce much of it.

Just my $0.02 FWIW
Last edited by Dmitri on Mon Feb 06, 2017 3:58 pm, edited 4 times in total.
User avatar
Dmitri
Great Old One
 
Posts: 9736
Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 1:04 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA (USA)

Re: All about those Hips

Postby WVMark on Mon Feb 06, 2017 7:19 pm

Dmitri wrote:Another side note -- "hips" don't have much "power" of their own (I'm assuming you're not talking about the kind of power Scarlett Johansson's hips have -- this would be the wrong forum for that :)).


You mean something like this kind of power? ;D

Image
WVMark
Huajing
 
Posts: 458
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:02 am

Re: All about those Hips

Postby Dmitri on Mon Feb 06, 2017 7:46 pm

That's exactly the image I actually linked originally, but then took it off, this being main forum and all...
But yeah, that. :)
User avatar
Dmitri
Great Old One
 
Posts: 9736
Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 1:04 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA (USA)

Re: All about those Hips

Postby johnwang on Mon Feb 06, 2017 7:59 pm

I'll "use my hip to move my arms" while my arm is totally frozen with my body when I train my

- "rhino guard". When my hip move to my right, my arms will move to my left. When my hip move to my left, my arms will move to my right.
- "double spears". When my hip rotate clockwise, my left arm rotate clockwise vertically. When my hip rotate counter-clockwise, my right arm rotate counter-clockwise vertically.

Will I do the same in fighting? May be not. Both "rhino guard" and "double spears" use arms to deflect my opponent's arms. It's used for defense. Speed is more important here and power is not that important.

For

- power, you use your body to "push/pull" your arm.
- speed, you use your body to "chase" your arm.

In fighting, sometime "speed" is more important than "power". To say that hip movement should always control the arm movement is incorrect. The arm can perform 10 different function. The hip can only perform 5 different function. There is no way that hip should dominate the arm.
Last edited by johnwang on Mon Feb 06, 2017 8:08 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Crow weep in the dark. Tide bellow in the north wind. How lonesome the world.
User avatar
johnwang
Great Old One
 
Posts: 10240
Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 5:26 pm

Re: All about those Hips

Postby yeniseri on Mon Feb 06, 2017 8:22 pm

Lo mejor del clima! The best of weather ;D
en realidad, Mexican weather girl Yanet Garcia (as they say 'finger licking good' ( esta pa' chuparse los dedos) with her assets

When fascism comes to US America, It will be wrapped in the US flag and waving a cross. An astute patriot
yeniseri
Wuji
 
Posts: 3797
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2009 1:49 pm
Location: USA


Return to Xingyiquan - Baguazhang - Taijiquan

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 27 guests