Second Saturday Hip Swivel: No One Wants a Mechanical Kiss

April Leffler led the July Second Saturday teacher practice, which was followed by a discussion: “How do you feel and teach the hip swivel?” To round out this article, I incorporated comments from other teachers. Disclaimer, this is certainly not definitive on the hip swivel.

When Justin talked about the swivel at a 1990’s conference, Pam Towne had no idea what he was talking about. Watching her, he replied, “You are doing it, dear.” She told him, when you say “hip swivel” women will want to do this, and she demonstrated an exaggerated figure eight. “No, that’s not what it is at all,” he replied.

Many find it confusing for students and introduce it later, if at all. Pam doesn’t teach it, instead guiding students to connect with the tan t’ien. She feels that when flowing from the center, the swivel happens naturally. AprilLeffler introduces it early, without naming it. “Feel the curve to the back,” April guided as we began Carry the Ball to the Side and Perpetual Motion. “Feel the curve to the front,” as we reversed. Or, “release to the back” gives the option to feel it in the feet or tan t’ien.

Daniel Pienciak wasn’t on the Zoom meeting, but he remembers Justin emphasizing repeatedly that in the side movements, “The waist turns and the hips swivel.” When a teacher pressed Justin for how to teach the swivel, Justin got very quiet and then with one finger, drew a narrow ellipse.

Steve pointed out it is important to first feel what you plan to teach. Ron suggested everything should be natural; students have enough difficulty. Ev suggested you don’t have to “do” the swivel if you feel and follow the tan t’ien. Patty shared that it gives the movement circularity and continuity. Justin told Trish, “Release your waist,” and that has helped her.

Daniel has said at events that although it happens as part of the movement, we sometimes have to “act as if.” “The weight shift is clearly not just sliding in a straight plane while turning or rotating. There is more going on than that. Teachers need to see how they feel it.” As the tan t’ien passes to the first direction, weight is slightly back and felt more on the heels. Returning it’s slightly forward, felt more on the balls of the feet. Daniel says that the expansion and contraction is also a critical component, the tan t’ien drawing in when both knees are bent. Marie has suggested that without the swivel there is no aliveness in the waist; the Chi does the work.

Carmen Brocklehurst doesn’t teach a waist turn separately because “the waist only moves at the behest of the tan t’ien.” She suggests introducing it with the side weight shift and feeling it small and seated. It’s easier to learn early, helps avoid shoulder turns, and gets them in touch with the tan t’ien. She says many people do not fully feel the tan t’ien or have a locked waist, and this can help. “You have to keep working on it until it becomes part of the movement.”

“Nose to the front” is important as it lines up the swivel and keeps it from being a shoulder turn; a lower stance can be helpful. The waist is being turned by the tan t’ien, front-and-back, but according to Carmen, “Although we don’t gyrate the hips, the swivel is indeed a tiny hula in the tan t’ien.” The weight shift elongates this small circular motion into the ellipse. “It’s always been an important part of the practice. If you want to experience the infinite-ness of the Chi, the hip swivel is the way to do it.”

As the discussion leaned toward “confusing and too esoteric,” I suggested that many in the community feel it’s important and we shouldn’t write it off, even if it feels mechanical (which it may at first, like everything else). Ron agreed. “It needs to stay part of the conversation.”

I’ll conclude with advice Caroline Guilott shared with me. “You are making the swivel,” she said. ‘Trying to do it holds us back. You can be so perfect that it’s terrible, like a mechanical kiss. When the energy is generating it, it’s seamless, joyous.”  

The Hip Swivel Continued

Lisa Stroyan recalled additional notes about the hip swivel from Carmen Brocklehurst’s class. The hip swivel keeps going even in the transitions. It has a band of energy all the way to the knees. It makes the emphasis in Carry the Ball effortless. It activates the upper hand in Passing Clouds and benefits from a lower stance. Carmen demonstrated this powerfully without the weight shift, with bent knees, showing her hands being moved in a small circular motion as her tan t’ien circulated gently. Sit in front of a mirror and feel the weight travel through the four quarters of the sitz bones (right back, left back, left front, right front). When sitting, you can’t make it big.