lilya
Member
I've searched the forum a couple of times trying to see if this particular issue was discussed before but I haven't found anything specific for very basics of the hip slide. (I am linking below a few things I did find very helpful; apologies if I've missed an earlier topic...) I hadn't noticed before this year that my slides are anything but horizontal, but it came up in three different instances, one while I was trying to polish up my mayas and once yesterday, trying a different approach to get the slide. I never thought this could be why the top semicircles of my mayas are so much ampler than the bottom ones - there's no clear "out" without "up" for me.
My instructors have talked about the obliques and I know mine are weak (according to physiotherapist and to them never ever feeling sore), but there seems to be a more fundamental problem in my head: I don't quite get the intended mechanics of the motion. If I wanted to do a hip slide to the right, should I try to focus on (1) "lengthening" the right obliques, on (2) contracting the left ones (sort of like a side crunch) or (3) both? If the obliques on both sides are supposed to contribute, are they working simultaneously or should I start crunching as the slide starts to lift away from the horizontal?
Also, I found that I can keep it closer to horizontal if I (4) recruit the glutes, but these are my other very weak muscle group and the contraction needs to be so forceful that I am unable to use them for anything else on either side. Something is happening in the (5) lower abs, too, but they are not so fine-tuned as to drive the motion; I also wonder, since this is beginner technique, how often are the lower abs the source of the slide for beginners who do it successfully. I am trying to not think about any (6) muscles on the front side of the legs, although my quads have this habit of promptly contracting pretty much at all times for some reason.
I think that further strengthening of the culprits (obliques and glutes) may bring a lot of improvement, but I feel that since they are there, however weak, I should still be able to achieve half a decently-looking slide, even if the range is nothing to write home about. I did find a discussion that encouraged me, as well as a great way to work on it in a figure 8-related topic (#12, Aziyade's advice on how to keep working on the slide). I might be a tad too anxious about working on it the wrong way, e.g., with too many muscles...
Oh, dear, this post is looong! Sorry! This is the level of "stuck" I find myself at: "struck" by how a seemingly simple element has eluded me for so long. Thanks for any suggestions or ideas!
My instructors have talked about the obliques and I know mine are weak (according to physiotherapist and to them never ever feeling sore), but there seems to be a more fundamental problem in my head: I don't quite get the intended mechanics of the motion. If I wanted to do a hip slide to the right, should I try to focus on (1) "lengthening" the right obliques, on (2) contracting the left ones (sort of like a side crunch) or (3) both? If the obliques on both sides are supposed to contribute, are they working simultaneously or should I start crunching as the slide starts to lift away from the horizontal?
Also, I found that I can keep it closer to horizontal if I (4) recruit the glutes, but these are my other very weak muscle group and the contraction needs to be so forceful that I am unable to use them for anything else on either side. Something is happening in the (5) lower abs, too, but they are not so fine-tuned as to drive the motion; I also wonder, since this is beginner technique, how often are the lower abs the source of the slide for beginners who do it successfully. I am trying to not think about any (6) muscles on the front side of the legs, although my quads have this habit of promptly contracting pretty much at all times for some reason.
I think that further strengthening of the culprits (obliques and glutes) may bring a lot of improvement, but I feel that since they are there, however weak, I should still be able to achieve half a decently-looking slide, even if the range is nothing to write home about. I did find a discussion that encouraged me, as well as a great way to work on it in a figure 8-related topic (#12, Aziyade's advice on how to keep working on the slide). I might be a tad too anxious about working on it the wrong way, e.g., with too many muscles...
Oh, dear, this post is looong! Sorry! This is the level of "stuck" I find myself at: "struck" by how a seemingly simple element has eluded me for so long. Thanks for any suggestions or ideas!
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