Bruce Lee's signature. The toughest ab move you'll attempt.
Stay stiff as a plank the entire descent. Bent hips means you cheated the rep.
Anchored only by your grip and upper back, your core has to hold your entire body rigid as it lowers like a drawbridge, resisting gravity through the longest lever you own. That fight against extension trains the abs isometrically and eccentrically at an intensity crunches cannot touch. It sits at the top of the bodyweight core pyramid, which is why it is a benchmark move rather than an everyday filler.
Start with slow negatives from the top with tucked knees, then straddle or single-leg versions, then full-body negatives before attempting complete reps. The Dragonfly, with knees bent at 90 degrees, is the natural stepping stone.
They train different battles. Hanging raises flex the spine against gravity, the dragon flag resists it through a rigid body. The flag is significantly harder and hits the whole trunk, but you need the raises and more in the bank first.
Your hips are breaking the line because the abs are giving out. Shorten the range, stop the descent before the arch starts, or drop back to a tucked version. A banana-shaped rep builds nothing but bad patterns.
