It is my understanding that hips can't move themselves, rather have to move as part of a chain of movement that starts with the legs or somewhere else. The appearance is that that hips move as the most visible aspect of larger circles....the larger hip movement that is generally called turning from the hips. To me smaller circles are initiated somewhere else with the legs joining in to some degree and possibly little or no movement visible through the hips...
As for moving from points above the hips, I would rather sink down into my core and turn from there...with the hips following at some point. Raising the center is one of the ways that you destablize others so why take that chance with yourself?
just my thoughts
Yah, been working on this myself. We are a bunch of tight-assed people. We turn like stiff cylinders rather than like the complicated articulated mechanisms we really are. I keep flashing on hearing Toby talk about "pulling" the body forward from the front foot in a sword movement. I've spent a lot of time thinking about that. Then guys like Dan and Mike on how to turn. It isn't this stiff turning but one hip opening, the other closing, one knee opening, the other closing, and so on throughout the body. A coordinated use of *everything*, all at once, maintaining a larger integrity, balance and orientation. The "power" comes from everywhere and nowhere at once. And done correctly the point of "connection" is really, well, everywhere... Then the problem is integrating this completely in to all movement.
And that's just the beginning... It sure changes perspective.
Still trying to grok it myself. And more importantly... To just be able to do it.
Me, I like to watch Kuroda moving. I like watching some of the Gracies. And on and on... Or watching an animal run in slow motion. Or watching an Olympic athlete moving in slow motion. Everything works together, but not stiffly, not "solidly", but connected throughout and fluidly powerful...
We need a better vocabulary and model to talk about this stuff...