What I usually do is a combination of the bone tool and the Pupeteer tab.
With pupeteer I "save" the character's positions while I move him with the bone tool. (Don't know if bone tool is the actual name. It has a little bone and an arrow).
It's a great tool for movements because you can block certain parts of your character (bones) while moving others. So If you want to move his hips alone block his chest or neck, and also his shins. What's from the chest up, like head, and arms will remain in the same place, and what's shins down, like the feet will too. You can block those parts by clicking on them and pressing "space". To move the part you want just click on it and while clicking move the mouse. Try it out.
Open the pupeteer tab and select the character you are using (if you are moving him with the bone tool he is already selected) and in the pupeteer tab/edit click on the grid. That ball is the saved position. Move the hips and again in the pupeteer click again in the grid. Second ball, that's the second position. Now, in that tab, in preview, click on the first bal and drag your mouse to the second ball. You'll see that the characters follows the movement you created. Try it out too.