The unpredictable changes in all Tai Chi movements are entirely dependent on the movement of the waist and hips, with the hips as the dominant force, which affects the whole body movement. Mr. Lin Quanbao, a master of Tai Chi, pointed out: “All Tai Chi movements are led by the hands at the beginning, that is, the hands direct the entire Tai Chi movement; then the body leads the hands, that is, the body method dominates the movement of the whole body, and every move and every form is dominated by the hip joints.” In the Tai Chi community, there is also a saying that “teaching boxing does not teach the hips”, which fully illustrates that the hip training method plays a vital role in practicing Tai Chi well. The practice of Tai Chi hips focuses on loosening the hips. The feet send the reaction force of the ground to the hips through the knees. Loosening the hips can send power to the waist in an instant. Failure to loosen the hips will instantly break the power and fail. Knowing how to loosen the hips can remove part or even a large part of the opponent’s force, lower the center of gravity, stabilize the lower body, create conditions for the crotch to move down the arc, increase the amplitude of the waist rotation, and make the whole body coordinated. Secondly, loose hips are a necessary condition for forming Hunyuan force. Furthermore, loose hips are also conducive to adjusting the body and footwork to gain the upper hand and make the lower limbs move lightly. For Tai Chi enthusiasts, if you want to practice loose hips, you must first understand where the hips are. In physiology, the so-called hips refer to the folded and sunken part of the thigh at the upper femur. In other words, we usually call the area between the waist and the legs the hips. The hip joints are composed of the sacroiliac joint, hip joint, ligament joints between the hip bone and the spine, pubic symphysis, pelvis and other parts.
One of the key points of practicing loose hips is to experience hip shaking and hip swinging. The so-called hip shaking is a rotational movement with the hip joint on one side of the buttocks as the center and the pelvis as the radius; hip swinging refers to the arc hip lifting and hip dropping movements. Relaxing the sacroiliac joint plays an important role in accelerating the loose waist. When practicing boxing, relax from the base of the thigh and pay attention to exercising the flexibility and flexibility of the hip joints, so as to achieve the effect of opening and activating the two hips. If you really loosen your hips when practicing boxing, the coccyx is like a bell hammer. When it leans to the left, the left hip falls while the right hip swings up. Then when the right hip falls, the coccyx has already come over, and the hips drive the whole body to the fingers and the Yongquan point under the feet. Relaxing the groin and perineum, loosening the waist and buttocks (also commonly known as collapsing waist) also play a great role in loosening the hips and rounding the crotch. In addition, pay attention to relaxing the hip joints and the muscles of the buttocks and waist. Don’t press the pelvis and clamp the hips.
Loosening the hips should achieve at least two purposes:
One is lightness. Through the reasonable contraction and relaxation of the muscles and ligaments of the hip joints, the various joints of the hip joints can rotate flexibly, and there is no phenomenon of auxiliary muscles and ligaments doing negative work.
The second is to relax the waist and be steady. By loosening the hips, the waist can be loosened better, and the body can lead the internal and external movements of the limbs, so that the mind, qi and strength are just right. It can make the body coordinated and complete, loose but not slack, and heavy but not stiff.
For the body, long-term scientific and systematic hip exercises can make the articular cartilage of the hip area, such as the sacroiliac joint and hip joint, thicken the tendons and ligaments, increase the diameter at the bone attachment, and increase the amount of collagen fibers, thereby improving the tensile resistance and stability of the hip joint. Through relaxation and stretching exercises, the strength of the prime movers involved in joint movement can be enhanced, and the stretchability of the antagonist muscles can be improved. At the same time, the soft tissues such as the joint capsule and ligaments stretch under the action of force, increasing the flexibility of the joints and the range of motion of the joints. The center of gravity change of Tai Chi exercise is inseparable from the effective movement of the hip joint.
For the practice of Tai Chi internal strength, the practice of boxing dominated by the hip crotch allows the body to lead the hands, induce the Tai Chi rotation in the abdomen, and dominate the very natural reverse abdominal breathing. A series of up and down, internal and external integration, and continuous are all formed from this. Yin and Yang, emptiness and reality, and Dantian breathing all depend on the operation of the crotch. On the outside, it is the practice of boxing and kneading hands (also commonly known as pushing hands), and on the inside, it is the operation of Dantian. Finally, the mind and intention are practiced to achieve unity, and Dantian commands the movement of the whole body. The foundation of strength is under the feet, and its kinetic energy comes from the waist and hips. The root of the hip is the axis, which drives the joints to move. The crotch force circles from the outside to the inside, from the inside to the outside, and it is a whole.
The two concepts of crotch round hip support (intermediate stage) and loose hip active crotch (advanced stage) seem to be easy to understand, but how to practice them well requires research. Now, taking Yang style 115-style Tai Chi as an example, I will talk about my personal experience in practicing.
1. Hip shrinking
Hip shrinking is the contraction of the hip bones and muscle ligaments from the front foot to the back foot backward and inward, and the waist and legs are combined into one hip, rather than bending the hips and protruding the buttocks. Hip shrinking is used more in the action of attacking from defense (the first half is defense, and the second half is offense). Generally speaking, doing the hip-shrinking movement in the front part can not only form the whole body degeneration, but also make the lower body as stable as Mount Tai, and provide enough power for the offensive power in the back part. The hip-shrinking movement is used for the backward push of the “Lan Que Wei”, such as “Feng Si Bi”, “Dao Nie Hou”, “Hai Hai Zhen”, or other movements of turning bow step into half horse step.
2. Dropping the hip
Dropping the hip means that the hip bone and muscle ligaments fall down in the state of relaxing the groin. When dropping the hip, the front foot should be slightly inward, and the abdomen sinks when the hip joint is loosened. The limbs below the hip are relaxed and sunk to the Yongquan acupoint, and the limbs above the hip are upward to lead the power (i.e., virtual spirit top power). The stable hip drop and the foot push and waist release should be coordinated and smooth to form a large enough rebound force, and the power can be applied to the target under the support of the stable lower body to produce the expected release effect. Dropping the hip should be at the level of relaxation, not the surface posture skills. Because no matter how high the skills are, once the dropped hip is subjected to external force, it is still habitual to push up instinctively. However, when entering the state of relaxed and transparent hip drop, the external force will either be swallowed by the body or easily dissolved.
3. Sitting on the hip
Sitting on the hip means that on the basis of the hip drop, the hip is further conscious of falling. When falling, pay attention to the hip still falling, and do not push it out. When sitting on the hip, the body is upright, and the hip muscles and hip bones naturally droop. The knees should be slightly pushed in the direction of the toes, and the toes should be retracted. To experience the pull of the lower limbs in a relaxed state, if the key points are done correctly, the toes, calves, leg arches, and hip roots will all feel heavy and swollen. Mr. Chen Weiming, a famous Tai Chi master, pointed out when teaching Tai Chi Push Hands: “To dissipate strength, the first thing is to relax the waist and sit on the hips, and the rotation of the waist is mainly relaxed and sinking.” Sitting on the hip is used in movements such as Lan Quewei and Hu Xi Ao Bu Zhang.
4. Collapse of the hip
Collapse of the hip and the top of the head are both important rules for Tai Chi to stand upright. In terms of function, it is closely related to sinking strength, dissipating strength, and releasing strength. Mr. Zhang Yijing, a famous Tai Chi master, said in his book “The Principles of Tai Chi” when talking about the hip collapse: “Tai Chi often uses bow and arrow steps. When practicing hip collapse for the first time, the hip joint of the back leg will inevitably be tense and unnatural. This is precisely because it is not loose.” In the bow and arrow step, the knee joint of the back foot is slightly bent, but if it is bent too much, the hip joint cannot achieve the purpose of exercise. But it is not right to have a stiff knee joint. At first glance, the back foot seems to be straight but not straight, but in fact, the hip root is stretched and relaxed, and the back foot is like a bow with a slightly bent knee. Loose waist and collapsed hips seek flexibility of the hip joint, especially flexibility under the body when standing upright.
The lower abdomen is the center of gravity of the body. The so-called Qi sinking to Dantian, loose waist and collapsed hips, open crotch, sinking Qi, etc., are just emphasizing the lowering of the center of gravity while being flexible and stable. After the hip joint is flexible, the waist can be rotated freely to resolve the opponent’s force and be stable and undefeated. Generally, people who are not good at neutralizing strength are mostly the result of not undergoing strict hip collapse training and failing to relax and flexibly relax the hip joint. When using the bow step, first drop the hips, then collapse the hips. When collapsing the hips, the muscles of the waist, back and buttocks relax, the hip bones naturally droop, and the hip bones and the Yongquan acupoints on the soles of the feet form a slingshot. Mr. Lin Mogen, a famous Tai Chi master, said: “When exerting strength, relax the waist and collapse the hips, and the opponent will fall out.” Collapsing the hips is used in the actions of pushing forward, hugging the knees, and punching the body in the Lanquewei.
5. Opening the hips
It does not refer to the broad opening of the hips, but the narrow opening of the hips, which refers to the pulling and loosening of the left and right hips, and the knees are abducted. The pulling and loosening of the hips is to drive the body with the spirit, and it is the tension and relaxation of the muscles and ligaments around the hip joints, not the loose mechanical pulling. After opening the hips, its momentum produces a kind of elasticity that is both stable and flexible, and together with the mind, it forms an overall strength. When opening the hips and exerting strength, it should be an instantaneous burst, and it should not be delayed and rigid. Opening the hips is used in actions such as single whip palm and fan through arms.
6. Closing the hips
Closing the hips means that the parts that make up the hip joints converge between the Mingmen point and the Huiyin point, forming an organic whole with the waist and legs. Closing the hips well can make the body stable as a whole. If it is properly coordinated with the power of the mind and qi, it will definitely make the foundation as stable as Mount Tai. Closing the hips is from the outside to the inside, not the tightening and stiffness of the hip joints themselves. When closing the hips to generate power, it should be an instantaneous burst, not delayed and stiff; when closing the hips to dissipate power, it should be slower, and the power should be closed until the opponent’s power is completely dissipated. Closing the hips is used in actions such as fighting tigers and bending the bow to shoot tigers.