[Estructura Marcial] Sentarse con la Cadera Estructuralmente

Author: Jeffi Chao Hui Wu

Fecha: 26-6-2025 Jueves, 12:50 PM

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[Martial Arts] Structural Sitting Hips
Many people teach "sitting hips," yet fail to articulate its true meaning, often merely encouraging students to mechanically imitate the posture, lowering the center of gravity and spreading the legs, believing this is the essence of sitting hips. In reality, sitting hips is not a simple physical imitation but a profound structural adjustment process that requires time, patience, and countless insights into the internal and external connections. When I first practiced the horse stance, my thighs would often feel intensely sore and swollen, accompanied by slight trembling, and I would start shaking every couple of minutes, unable to maintain my balance. Strangely, however, after each session, I did not experience the typical soreness of muscle fatigue but rather a light and pleasant sensation, as if a previously unnoticed warm current was flowing gently throughout my body. This made me realize early on that this soreness was not ordinary muscle strain but a signal that the deep internal structure of my body was being activated and awakened, indicating that the qi and blood were beginning to circulate and attempting to unblock the sealed pathways.
The real transformation occurred one day; I remember it was a winter morning by the sea when I practiced my stance. The temperature was very low, and the cold wind was biting, yet my body felt calm and stable. I stood in my stance as usual, focusing my mind, and suddenly noticed that my thighs were no longer straining, my calves felt relaxed, and my toes naturally touched the ground without any effort to "grip" it. It was a sensation of unprecedented relaxation and heaviness. At that moment, it felt as if the weight of my entire body had quietly "settled into my hips," with my center of gravity firmly resting deep within the hip joints, making the hips the true core pivot of my body structure. Standing still, my hips felt like a warm furnace, continuously radiating heat, with energy circulating inside at a steady pace, even creating a subtle sensation of movement throughout the bones of my waist, back, and legs. This state did not require conscious guidance; it occurred naturally as a result of repeated practice, where the structure automatically returned to its proper position and functioned smoothly.
I clearly understood that to truly achieve "structural sitting hips," one must undergo a slow and arduous process of "opening the hips." Many beginners, while practicing their stance, unconsciously lean their upper bodies forward, trying to maintain balance with upper body strength, or deliberately lower their bodies to create a false sense of "stability." However, these actions stem from the hips not being truly opened, with the hip joints constrained, preventing the body from naturally sinking, and the center of gravity failing to settle into the hips, resulting in a persistent separation between the upper and lower body. Externally, one may appear composed, but the structure is fundamentally unstable. Without truly opening the hips, the body cannot achieve that "natural vertical alignment from head to toe," nor can one experience the penetrating power that comes after relaxation.
Opening the hips is an extremely long and arduous process. Especially when I started from scratch, every time I pressed, twisted, rotated, or sank my hips, it was accompanied by a noticeable tearing sensation—a pain from the deep joints being forced to expand, sharp and prolonged, reminding you that every step must be taken without haste. But I knew very well that this step was something everyone must experience; it cannot be skipped, nor can it be achieved through brute force in one go. The opening of the hips relies on a gradual process, slowly loosening and adjusting through each breath, each stance, and each release. Time and patience are the only keys; stance practice, footwork, and intention are merely aids. The core is to allow the body to enter a naturally relaxed state during every moment of practice, accompanying the gradual release of the hips with a stable and gentle training rhythm. During this stage, one must avoid impatience and cannot pull or tug forcefully, for once the hip joints are injured, recovery is extremely difficult, and the cost of such damage is often a hundred times more severe than practicing slowly.
Now, when I stand in my stance, my upper body is naturally relaxed, my waist and back feel like a soft bowstring, and my thighs and calves no longer feel forced. My toes gently touch the ground without gripping it, and my entire body feels as if it is connected by an invisible thread, heavy yet not collapsing, relaxed yet not scattered, with the weight of my body firmly settled in my hips. At that moment, my hips felt like a "boiler of support," the core of the entire structure's strength and stability, rather than merely a joint pivot. This state has no shortcuts; it is not about how much theory one understands or relying on someone else's teachings, but rather the countless times of standing, the numerous silent moments of adjusting breath, structure, and perceiving subtleties, practicing it step by step.
When one truly achieves structural sitting hips, one will discover a change that almost overturns previous understanding: even with the entire body completely relaxed, even with the arms hanging naturally, there will be no tendency for the body to lean back or lose balance. This sense of stability is not achieved through tense muscles straining against gravity, but rather a power that arises from the natural connection of the structure. At that moment, the hips feel like an invisible "structural chair," quietly supporting the entire body, with the weight from the top of the head to the soles of the feet evenly resting on this "chair," completely stable yet not rigid. That is the true standard of sitting hips—not "developing more strength," but "finding the most precise structure," not relying on strength to hold oneself up, but naturally achieving "not falling over without force" while completely relaxed.
I can confidently say that sitting hips has never been an issue of appearance but rather a structural issue. Outsiders often underestimate low stances, thinking that the lower the stance, the deeper the skill; however, a master may not necessarily have a low stance. Soreness in the thighs does not necessarily indicate correct force application; rather, it often signifies that the structure has not truly returned to its proper position. Only when the hips can fully bear the weight of the body, allowing the entire person to sink steadily, with the muscles and bones naturally aligned, breathing steady, and strength flowing smoothly from the soles of the feet to the top of the head, can one be considered to have truly entered the practice. And this entry is not a shortcut in technique, nor a moment of deliberate imitation, but a grounded journey through countless repetitive and tranquil practice days and nights, until the structure naturally unifies, until the strength takes root from within, until sitting hips becomes a part of the body, stable both internally and externally, with movement and stillness firmly established.

Source: http://www.australianwinner.com/AuWinner/viewtopic.php?t=696526