I don't open these hips for just ANY sifu!

[KC Elbows]

Been making a lot of progress as far as opening up my hips lately. Anyone know any good stretches/exercises that'll help me continue with my advancement?

[Ryu]

:( eeeewwww...

[norther practitioner]

put your back on the floor and your legs up in the air (or up against the wall, and do splits. Another one is to do splits on your knees (to save them a bit).

[KC Elbows]

Actually, the one where you lie on your back is a regular part of my stretching now. For the first two months, it didn't seem to do anything, then all of a sudden I started to get some real progress from it.

The knee one sounds scary. Do you do that? Do you have good knees? How old are you?


Ryu,
Like you've never done it. :p

[Ryu]

:p
Teehee, well you got me there!




(..urrg... I suddenly feel so dirty :( .. )

Ryu

[fa_jing]

Full lotus pose, also frog pose, position #4 and #9 of the sun salutation, splits, side kicks with no pivot, put knee and lower leg up on the bar...etc.

And my hips still need loosening!!

-FJ

[Tvebak]

Lie on your back legs spread out and have a friend (or an enemy depending on how much strech you want) do a wide mabu so his legs fit inside your knees...then he put his hands on your knees and put his weight down...
Lie on your stomach, legs out and feet together, your friend puts a knee on your butt to keep it down, then graps your feet and pushes down gently...
Hope you could get my meaning...these two exercieses are really great...

[norther practitioner]

center split.....just on your your knees (it is less wear and tear on your knees.). My knees suck (actually, I just dislocated my left patela and seriously strained or partially tore a ligament in my knee).

[Ryu]

And you guys say BJJ and Grappling are **** erotic! :D

Ryu

[KC Elbows]

Kung fu just hasn't come out of the closet.

[Braden]

What are you doing now for it, KC? Are you looking for stretch-type things, or movement drills from kungfu?

[KC Elbows]

Both.

Right now, I do a good amount of stretching for it, really concentrating on making sure my hips are relaxed and, where applicable, my legs locked, and avoid sacrificing form to just get down lower, if you follow me.

As far as form, I've been learning the core internal form in my style, and there's several steps in there that seem to help open up the hips, so I practice those steps a lot, which has dramatically helped me learn to relax my hips more.

[Former castleva]

Here´s one (or actually two,depending on how you look at it)
spread your legs to sides (opposite directions) longer than your shoulders.
Keep your upper body straight.Your hands and arms remain at your sides.
Then reach toward your ankle with your other hand (lowering your upper torso,and stretching to reach ankle)
A bit hard to explain this one,here´s an example-
When you stretch your left hip,use your left hand to reach your ankle (or alternatively shin,depending on your flexibility)
When you stretch your right hip,you use your right hand to reach ankle (or again,instead your shin)
You can "bounce",do short stretches and change hand&hip,from side to side,or longer stretches.
Side kicks are good too,as fa_jing already stated.

:)