Most people feel burning quads in Ma Bu, but the real engine is at the hips and pelvic floor. When you open from the hips, sink with control, then recoil elastically, you convert Ma Bu from a static hold into stored energy for fast movement.
What you are really training in Ma Bu
Hip-led external rotation (turnout) so knees track over toes Pelvic floor and deep hip tissues that lengthen on the way down and spring back on the way up Whole-foot pressure and quiet spine for clean force transmission
Shared mechanics across traditions
Sumo shiko: wide turnout, deliberate lift and place, feel the floor rebound. Māori haka: wide stance, knees pressing out, rhythmic stamps that teach you to send force into the ground and receive it back. Ballet plié (second position, plié en seconde): toes turned out, knees align with toes, heels usually stay on the floor, spine long. This is the same hip-first opening ballet calls turnout. We borrow the movement qualities, not cultural symbols.
Practice cues for Ma Bu
Open → Sink → Recoil → Go
Lead from the hips. Think of the femur rotating outward inside the socket so knees and toes point the same way. Sink with control. Weight even on both feet, whole foot grounded, spine long. Engage the pelvic floor. Lowering feels like a gentle widening, rising feels like drawing support from pelvic floor to lower abdomen. Let the ground send you. Each press into the floor should give you a small rebound you can ride into the next step.
Two-minute micro session
Demi-plié en seconde × 8 (3 counts down, 1 hold, 3 up; knees track over toes) Shiko stomps × 10 (alternate sides, quiet torso, feel rebound) Grand plié en seconde × 4 (heels remain on the floor, keep the axis) Haka-style activation 20 s × 2 (wide stance with knees out, rhythmic exhale, add one quick forward step or lateral shift after each recoil)
Why it works
Ma Bu becomes a storage and release cycle. Hip turnout aligns the chain, the pelvic floor adds elastic return, and the foot transfers it. Once you train these pieces as one line, Ma Bu stops being just leg burn and starts being your launch pad.
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