USING THE HIP CORRECTLY

 by Yang Shuangxing

Over the years, I've noticed many practitioners of karate, taekwondo, and gong-fu using their hips incorrectly; there's only one way to do it correctly (after all, we're all built the same, regardless of what form of martial art we practice), and several ways to it incorrectly...anddoing it wrong can lead to crippling injury.

The CORRECT way is to use the rear leg as a sort of piston. As it drives the foot against the ground, the hip (akin to a gear) turns (rotates) forward. This is illustrated in my book, MARTIAL MECHANICS. The striking hip turns in the direction of the target. It's a simple enough concept to remember:

The (striking side) hip moves towards the target. Always. Period.

In the case of a reverse punch (striking with the opposite hand and foot forward), the rear hip rotates 45 degrees forward so that the navel faces the target. This means that you must begin with the navel 45 degrees backward from the target – so it can rotate 45 degrees forward, bringing it in line with the target.

The opposite is true of a lunging attack (striking with the same hand and foot forward); begin with the navel pointed directly at the target and as the technique is executed, the forward hip rotates 45 degrees forward (towards the target), ending with the navel pointed 45 degrees away from the target.

The forward knee mustn't wobble at all. At. All.

This kind of movement is utilized in all types of techniques, from thrusting and striking techniques to blocking techniques. Without it, you're relying on the strength of your arms alone.

A popular but INCORRECT way of using the hip is to fail to use the leg as a piston and simply jerk the hip forward, using the muscles of the lower back. If this is done forcefully and repeatedly over a period of time, it can result in permanent, crippling injury to the lower back and hips.

Many instructors fail to teach students how to properly rotate the hips...and the students, in an effort to get more “oomph” into the technique, do it incorrectly. It may feel fine for some time but trust me, doing it wrong will eventually sideline you. Permanently.