Wolfe Lowenthal

I've just been playing Tai Chi for a few years, in the Cheng Man Ch'ing style. This is a great book for somebody like me. Lots of practical advice and tips; just getting oriented properly. It's not comprehensive at all. It assumes you know the form and push hands, or anyway doesn't provide any sort of basic instruction. It does a great job of steering the reader toward a deeper understanding of what this stuff is all about. I have a lot to learn! This book shed valuable light on the road ahead.

There Are No Secrets is a series of vignettes about Professor Cheng Man Ch'ing and his tai chi. The book is not for instructional purposes (e.g., 'here's how you perform Ward Off'), but rather focuses on different aspects of tai chi training, the author's personal experiences in training, and the Professor's philosophy, which is a mixture of Taoism and Confucianism (at one point in the book the Professor comments he is '30% Lao Tzu and 70% Confuscius).

It is written excellently and Wolfe's show more personally struggles with tai chi and 'softness' are both helpful and illuminating for the aspiring tai chi boxer. show less

Clearly written explanation of the form and tao of Professor Cheng. Inspirational text for practitioners by an American student of Prof. Cheng. Does not go thru the form posture by posture. Is more concerned with the philosophical underpinnings.

If you've read his first two books then you'll definitely want this one. Wolfe's books are amazing. I was deep into contemplation about new ideas and paused to wonder if I should be taking notes. I looked down and realized I was just on the second page! If you are a tai chi student or if you are a thoughtful citizen of the world you will want to get a copy of this book. Right now the best way to find it is to go to his website at http://www.longrivertaichi.org