🌿 1. When You
Are Pushed: Don’t Let the Hips Drift
If you lean back or sideways, it usually means the hips (胯 kua) have lost their centered control.
The correct principle is:
「腰為樞紐，身隨腰轉；胯為根本，力由胯發。」
“The waist is the pivot; the body follows the waist. The hips are the root; power issues from the hips.”
When you are pushed:
- Do not let the pelvis or kua move away from the root (feet).
- Keep the kua soft, open, and sinking downward.
- The hips should rotate or fold, not tilt backward.
⚙️ 2. The Biomechanics: Convert Lean into Rotation or Folding
When the opponent’s force arrives:
-
Backward push:
Do not lean back. Instead, fold at the kua — the pelvis slightly rotates backward while the lumbar stays lengthened.
The tailbone (wei lu, 尾閭) should sink and align toward the heel of the weighted leg.
This keeps the Dantian facing the opponent while energy spirals downward to the foot. -
Side push:
Do not bend sideways. Instead, one kua closes, the other opens.
The hip on the receiving side folds inward (合胯), while the other expands (開胯).
This lets the center shift smoothly while keeping the spine vertical and the crown suspended.
So instead of the trunk bending, you use hip rotation (胯轉) and weight shifting (虛實變化).
🧘♂️ 3. Internal Cue: “Hips like water, root like mountain”
Imagine:
- The hips as floating in water, always adjusting but never stiff.
- The feet as mountains, stable and unmoving.
When pushed, the kua acts like a swivel to redirect force through the legs into the ground.
If the hips freeze or tilt, the line of transmission breaks, and the upper body leans.
🌀 4. Training Drills
You can improve this by:
- Kua folding (合胯) exercise — practice absorbing a partner’s push by folding and turning the kua without the torso leaning.
- Silk-reeling (纏絲勁) practice — emphasize waist-hip coordination and continuous Dantian-led spiraling.
- Wall alignment drill — stand with back near a wall and receive pushes, keeping the spine vertical but rotating and sinking through the hips When you're pushed sideways in Tai Chi push hands, you definitely need to pay attention to keeping your hips (or kua) stable and level.
The general principle is that the kua should remain as level as possible, even as you shift weight. Instead of letting one side of your pelvis hike up or tilt, you want to keep that horizontal alignment. This helps you redirect the force into the ground and maintain your root.
Excellent question — yes, there are several ancient Chinese sayings and classical Tai Chi (and broader martial arts / Daoist) writings that describe the role of the hips (胯 kua, or 腰 yao) as the pivot and root of movement, even if they don’t always use modern anatomical terms.
Let’s go through the most important classical sources that express this principle clearly.
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🏮 1. 「腰為一身之主宰」
Source: 《太極拳論》 Taiji Quan Lun (Treatise on Tai Chi Chuan)
> 原文 (Classical Chinese):
腰為一身之主宰，動靜之機在於腰間。
Modern meaning:
“The waist governs the whole body; the mechanism of stillness and motion lies in the waist.”
Explanation:
In traditional language, 腰 (yao) often includes the hip–waist complex, not just the narrow lumbar area.
This saying means that the movement of the entire body originates in the waist–hip region.
If the waist (and kua) are not properly aligned or loose, the rest of the body cannot follow harmoniously.
So when you are pushed and your hips adjust, this principle applies directly — if the waist-hip pivot is stable, everything can turn without breaking structure.
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🌿 2. 「命意源頭在腰隙」
Source: 楊班侯傳 《太極拳打手歌》 Song of Push-Hands (Yang Banhou tradition)
> 原文：
命意源頭在腰隙，變動須由心意運。
Meaning:
“The source of intention and life energy lies in the hollow of the waist; all change originates there through mindful movement.”
Explanation:
The “waist hollow” (腰隙) refers to the space around the kua, where energy is gathered and released.
This aligns with modern biomechanics: the kua acts like a universal joint, allowing transformation of force without losing balance.
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⚙️ 3. 「氣由脊發，動於腰間」
Source: Daoist internal cultivation texts & later martial classics
> Meaning:
“Qi issues from the spine and moves through the waist.”
Explanation:
The hips (kua) are part of the waist mechanism — they allow qi and force from the spine to connect to the legs.
If the kua collapses or locks, the qi cannot descend, and you lose your root.
In Tai Chi’s internal logic, the kua is the gateway (關 guan) for qi to reach the feet.
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🌊 4. 「鬆胯沉氣，氣沉丹田」
Source: Common in internal boxing maxims (內家拳訣)
> Meaning:
“Relax the hips and sink the qi; the qi settles in the Dantian.”
Explanation:
When the hips release downward and open, the qi naturally drops.
This matches the idea of don’t lean — sink.
The kua acts like a basin holding water; if tilted, the water (energy) spills.
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🩶 5. 「腰如車軸，胯如車輪」
Traditional metaphor (not from one single classic but used in Chen and Yang oral teachings)
> Meaning:
“The waist is like the axle; the hips are like the wheels.”
Explanation:
This poetic saying describes the coordination: the waist turns as an axis, and the hips roll to follow, maintaining balance.
When pushed sideways, your kua turns like a wheel — opening one side, closing the other — so your center remains upright.
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💡 Summary Table
Classical Saying Translation Meaning for Push Hands
腰為一身之主宰 The waist governs the body Keep kua stable; movement comes from waist
命意源頭在腰隙 The source of intent lies in the waist hollow The kua is the control point for transformation
氣由脊發，動於腰間 Qi issues from the spine, moves through the waist The waist–hip transmits all internal force
鬆胯沉氣 Relax hips, sink qi Don’t lean; let energy drop through kua
腰如車軸，胯如車輪 Waist as axle, hips as wheels Rotate, don’t bend — root through hip turn
In short, think of your hips as a stable platform. If you keep them level, you can shift your weight to one leg or the other smoothly and stay balanced.🩺 In summary
When pushed:
| Common Error | Correction with Hips |
|---|---|
| Leaning back | Fold at kua, sink tailbone, turn waist |
| Leaning sideways | Open one kua, close the other, keep spine erect |
| Stiff pelvis | Relax and let hips rotate freely |
| Disconnected root | Keep energy flowing from Dantian → kua → foot |