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[Extreme Martial Arts] Taiji Hip Opening MethodAutor: Jeffi Chao Hui Wu Fecha: 29-7-2025 Martes, 1:39 PM ········································ [Extreme Martial Arts] Tai Chi Hip Opening Method
An entry into the wisdom of structural rearrangement of the body.
Among all internal martial arts, the Tai Chi system and even traditional training systems frequently mention "hip opening," as if everyone understands it and practices it. However, the true methods of hip opening are few and far between. It is not because the hips are difficult to open, but because the direction of "opening" has been wrong from the very beginning. In Tai Chi, "hip opening" has never been about flexibility training through stretching or simply sinking in standing postures, nor is it about external force assistance; it is an internal awakening of deep structural rearrangement. Only when you truly enter the wisdom channel of Tai Chi structure will your hips automatically "open" to you.
I am not a formally trained practitioner, nor have I systematically received so-called professional soft martial arts or dance training. However, through a year of continuous practice, with a stable horse stance for half an hour daily, I can stand on one leg with my eyes closed for 23 minutes, and I have entered the "Lingzi gait" in Tai Chi walking, ultimately leading to my hips "opening" by themselves. There was no pulling, no twisting, no pain. One day, after standing for over ten minutes, I suddenly felt a gentle touch on a point inside my hip bone, and then, like flowing water, the entire leg's bones felt as if they had loosened by an inch, and the soles of my feet felt unprecedentedly connected to the earth. At that moment, I realized that true hip opening relies not on muscles or stretching, but on the re-unlocking of structural logic.
The "Tai Chi Hip Opening Method" is not a specific set of movements but a complete system embedded in the principles of Tai Chi, developed through my practical path of mind-body interaction. Its core is not the movements but "awareness." Without awareness, no amount of practice is effective; once awareness is achieved, the hips will open naturally without effort.
My path is as follows: starting with the earliest horse stance, stabilizing the central axis in standing practice, allowing both legs to truly bear the entire weight of the body, rather than relying on muscle strength. Then, I focused on the control of the pivot point in the hip through one-legged standing training with eyes closed, enhancing overall coordination and neural stability. After this, I entered the practice of Tai Chi walking: it is not about walking step by step, but about completing each step with the feeling in the hips. Once in this mode, the body's center of gravity naturally sinks, and the hips no longer act as "joints" but become a "central station" — where energy circulates and force emanates.
The path of standing practice is as follows: starting with the earliest horse stance, stabilizing the central axis in standing, allowing both legs to truly bear the entire weight of the body, rather than merely holding on; combined with the pivot point transfer of one-legged standing training with eyes closed, then reinforcing overall coordination and neural stability through standing postures. After this, I entered the training of Tai Chi walking; Tai Chi is not about "step by step," but is completed through the feeling of the hips dropping. Once in this mode, the entire body automatically sinks, and the hips no longer have a "clamping" effect but become a "central station." Once in place, the mind becomes extremely stable.
Why do many people struggle with hip opening? Because they are accustomed to using force, pursuing quick results, and imitating movements without understanding structural principles. They treat hip opening as self-discipline, unaware that it is a product of systematic structure. If one does not first reconstruct the standing posture, does not have true structural curves, and does not guide breathing and the spine into a gentle swirling state, no matter how much one pulls the hips, exhales in pain, or changes positions, injury is inevitable.
True hip opening is not just about "going with the breath"; you cannot control it, but you can guide it. When I practice daily by the sea, standing on one leg with my eyes closed, feeling the morning tide beneath my feet, and maintaining steady breathing, the entire pelvic area gradually softens from rigidity, as if layers of locks are being quietly opened. Especially after several days of practicing in 6-degree Celsius temperatures while wearing only thin pants, I still felt warm all over, and when my hips were not cold, I knew this was not just about enduring the cold, but that the energy and blood had truly reached below the hips, and the structure had changed.
The Tai Chi Hip Opening Method: it cannot be forced, nor can it be delayed; it must be stable; it is not about pursuing sensations but waiting for the structure to complete itself. Once hip opening occurs, other practices become truly effective. Every step you take, every minute you stand, and every breath you take is related to the "force of the hips." It is not just muscle training but an intelligent recovery at the skeletal level.
In a true sense, Tai Chi hip opening is not "flexibility training," but rather the part of human body wisdom that has been sealed the longest and is the hardest to unlock. Only when you master this origin can you awaken your own automatic motor nerve system, energy and blood pathways, and overall structural rearrangement.
Tai Chi hip opening is a beginning. Tai Chi hip opening will be an important entry point in the future system, advancing in layers, integrating horse stance, Lingzi steps, one-legged standing, and the complete path of dialectical central structure. Humanity lacks training methods but not willpower. And hip opening is where willpower can manifest.
Hip opening methods for different age groups:
Under 20 years old: The bones have not yet fully calcified, and the hip sockets are flexible. One can progress naturally into hip opening through slow, deep horse stances combined with gentle sinking breaths. There is no need to force leg stretching.
Ages 30-50: The skeletal structure often has poor sitting posture, uneven exercise, or long-term burdens on the waist and legs. One should focus on "structural sitting hips + low center of gravity standing" combined with awareness training for the sinking of the hip roots, gradually unlocking the pelvic chain. The key is not in "pressing" but in "sinking."
Ages 50 and above: The hip joint capsule is stiff, and fascia is aging. Do not forcefully pull; instead, guide the hips to sink through "bench-style horse stance" or "wall standing" training, focusing on skeletal alignment and the nourishment of energy and blood, combined with training for the "swinging feeling" of the hips while walking, gradually activating the natural hip opening mechanism.
The Tai Chi hip opening method is like this: do not force it, but do not be lax; do not practice hard, but it must be stable; it is not about pursuing sensations but waiting for the structure to mature. Once hip opening occurs, other practices become truly effective. Every step you take, every minute you stand, and every breath you take will shift from "local effort" to "overall coordination." This is not a training result but an internal command that comes automatically after the awakening of body wisdom.
I can responsibly say that Tai Chi hip opening is not a technique of movement but the part of the human body wisdom system that is "sealed the latest and hardest to unlock." Whoever masters this origin can reconstruct their motor nerve system, energy and blood pathways, thinking patterns, and even cognitive scales.
This article is just a beginning. Tai Chi hip opening will be an important entry point in my future systematization, advancing in layers, integrating horse stance, Lingzi steps, one-legged standing, and static standing into a complete path. Humanity lacks methods of exercise but not methods of rebooting. And hip opening is the key to rebooting.
This system is also touched upon in my other articles, such as: [Extreme Philosophy] The Mainstream is an Obstacle to Innovation, where I mentioned the lag of structural thinking causing erroneous perceptions of the body; in [Music] A Piece of Fingerstyle that Moves Heaven and Sea, I described the flowing sensation as if guided by a divine force after the coordination of energy and body, and that sense of connectivity essentially comes from the overall collaborative state after the central structure (including the hips) has been opened. In [Music] This Feeling Can Wait, Penetrating the Soul, I indirectly realized the awakening of the body's breathing pathways and "mid-structure" through the resonance of breath driving the guitar melody. This path extension is precisely another form manifested in music after hip opening, loosening, and connecting the hips.
This is not theoretical deduction but bodily verification. This is not a performance of flexibility but the unsealing of intelligent structure. It is not only martial artists who need to open their hips; everyone who wishes to restore bodily perception should start from the hips and return to the true deep structural door that belongs to humanity.
In another empirical article of mine, "Structural Sitting Hips," I have detailed that "sitting hips" is not an action intention but the result of the horse stance structure, spinal traction, knee-ankle sequence, and energy and blood returning to their positions all being in place, leading to the natural sinking of the "hips." That sinking is not achieved through pressure but through the pelvic area fitting into the overall body structure like a key after the **"structural fitting."** Once this fitting is complete, not only can one stand firm, walk steadily, and exert force deeply, but even hair begins to regrow, and body temperature distribution is fully optimized, signaling that the body's structure and energy and blood have "sat" back to the origin together.
This article also clearly points out that when structural sitting hips are successful, the weight on the soles of the feet is balanced, the hips are relaxed and sinking, the chest and waist are not collapsed, and the head feels light, as if the entire person is still yet in a spiral microflow, with energy arising from the feet and force emanating from the hips, and consciousness is transparent and unobstructed.
Without this article, the ultimate significance of "hip opening" cannot be explained. Because true "opening" is ultimately not about the degree of opening but the "settled" state after the structure returns to its place. Opening is for settling. Settling is the wisdom and stillness after structural fitting.
Therefore, "Structural Sitting Hips" and this article "Tai Chi Hip Opening Method," along with "Eyes Closed Standing, Energy and Blood Reconstruction," "One-Legged Standing for 23 Minutes Empirical Test," and "Preliminary Lingzi Steps," together form a complete path from weight-bearing on the soles of the feet, energy and blood returning, unlocking the knees and hips, to the structural return of the hips and the natural uprightness of the upper body, representing the most penetrating set of structural anchor points in my entire mind-body system. Source: http://www.australianwinner.com/AuWinner/viewtopic.php?t=697066 |
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