Rating: 
Summary: A useful overview and hopefully convincing for the curious..
Review: Having been practicing Qigong for a while as well as having seen a video demo of Frantzis at a Qigong conference I don't find his claims to be too far "out there". Certainly, the video I saw had some rather amazing examples of Frantzis' power for energy transmission.This book, as many have pointed out, is not a "how-to" book. But then again, anyone looking for a mechanics book of Qigong is either really naive or has missed the point entirely. Qigong (or whatever you want to call the internal arts) is about doing and you can't learn that without a master. This is not silly logic or math lessons but something that goes much deeper. Just as sitting and meditating like the Zen master you read about will likely give you a bad back and no "answers" to any koans if you don't do it with proper instruction, expecting to read Frantzis' book and start hitting people with some extra super-power is only going to lead to failure. Frantzis has attempted, in my opinion, to do what many other masters have done: leave enough hints and enough stories of the potential others have realized to encourage interested readers to seek out their own master. You can't put this stuff into a book and he didn't try, but the stories sure are interesting. Frantzis had the amazing luck to meet and study with people like Morihei Ueshiba (founder of Akido)and the tales are worth the price of the book. I enjoyed reading through this and have now loaned it to several friends who study martial arts; a couple have gone on to investigate internal arts. I think this is a good place for someone to start their own journey.
Rating: 
Summary: Misleading title...
Review: I bought this book hoping it would enlighten me with 'combat secrets'. To my disappointment, there are none. Its not a 'how to' book, although many people interpret this from the title. If however, you are interested in details / experiences regarding many 'Internal Masters' then this is a book for you. It contains information on the different masters Frantzis encountered during his quest for knowledge, as well as personal experiences. For background knowledge only.
Rating:
Summary: Is it real or...?
Review: I first bought this book for wont of something to read on a long flight across the ocean, almost seven years ago, as I remember. Over the years, I returned to ponder over the information it contained as my taiji training progressed. The book was quite enjoyable, indeed. Unfortunately, I am also a professional historian in the field of History of Compared Religions and, when I recall some of the information Frantzis provides, I cannot help but to wonder wether he just made it up. Some of the dates on his "tales of martial arts masters" are all wrong (for example, how could he have trained with an "80 plus" years old Wang Shu Jin, when this teacher died at 75 is still a puzzle to me). Some of the information concerning daoist meditation practices lack consistency to the scholar's eye. In general, mr Frantzis seems to know a bit too much: he has done everything and trained with almost everyone worth noticing - but then he doesn't quote reknowned experts such as R.W. Smith (!?).
The book is a very good puzzle, where all pieces fit in perfectly - that is, until the reader starts to wonder as to the quality of the contents. And it is a bit too much on the advertising side of the fence. It makes for a good reading if you're looking for entertaiment and if you don't mind the ads thrown in here and there.
Rating:
Summary: Good book. Informative. More training applications.
Review: I found this book to be an excellent source of information on the internal martial arts of china. All of the things he says check out with other sources I've seen on the martial arts. After I read it I lent it to my Bagua Zhang instructer to read. He also liked it. In the authers next book I would appreciate it if he included more training applications.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting stories but no proof...
Review: I found this book to give interesting stories about the various internal martial arts. But, a very simple point which
applies to just about all books on tai chi: why are there never any convincing photos of uprooting the opponent in practical push hands practice? There is one picture in his book but the posture of the guy in the air could well mean he jumped or cooperated for the sake of the camera. I'm just not convinced it is a genuine photo! No books on tai chi give such photos because the authors don't have any skill of understanding. A 'guide to internal martial arts' book published some years ago gave the game away when the model was interviewd by a magazine. Turns out she was just that, a model with no martial arts background at all, chosen for her pretty, oriental face. What is so good about R W Smith's writings is the obvious integrity that comes through, which seems increasingly valuable as time passes and commerce creeps in.
Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: I fullheartedly agree with a previous reviewer. This is essentially an autobiography. It's an easy and pleasant reading and it's a good book to have in a martial arts biblioteque. It tells about many martial arts that are not well known. Other than that, it does not deliver much knowledge and the title "Combat Secrets of Ba Gua, Tai Chi, and Hsing-I" is a sort of overstatement, in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Internal Martial Arts
Review: I have read this book over and over again because it is filled with information a beginner needed to know. This is one of the books to read if you are new to the Internal Arts. For example one of the signs Kumar gave when one is achieving internal strenght is when one can do certain feats that could not be done before training in Baguazhang. Kumar also list his experiences in other arts such as Judo, Karate, Wing Chun, Aikido, and Jujitsu. In this book he emphasized Baguazhang more than Tai Chi and Xing-Yi. This is not a training manual but an in-depth book on the nature of the internal arts. If you would like an instructional book on Baguazhang you have to read Park Bok Nam's or Liang Shou Yu's books and videos. Also note Kumar's Baguazhang is Yin style. He is a teacher who strictly believe in the use of chi, chi-kung and meditation. Over all I rate this book quite high because I could keep reading it from time to time and come up with a new understanding as I progress with my training.
Rating: 
Summary: good for a overview for beginners ...
Review: I just finished reading this book and it really indulges a keen interest in the internal arts.
The author's extensive martial arts style started of with karate and progressed to years of training in all of the major internal arts and a lot of external \ internal kung fu styles and his extensive knowledge of this very complex subject matter is very impressive.
To put it in a nutshell if you're looking at studying an internal art this gives you a good reference as to which one might suit you best. It's dry at times and sometimes too personalised but no doubt a very good book to get things underway.
Big ups to author ... his second book ... Opening the energy gates of you body is next on my list ...
Rating:
Summary: one man's journey and reflections
Review: I must preface this review by stating that my familiarity with Chinese martial arts is very superficial. That being said, I must also state that this is, without a doubt, one of the best written martial arts books I have read. The author shares his experiences with teachers and schools on mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The three main sections cover Tai Chi, Hsing-I and Pa Kua. There is also additional material on the Chinese view of the energy flow through the body and training advice. Mr. Frantzis draws on anecdotes and history to describe and contrast the internal martial arts systems in great detail. After reading this excellent book I was inspired to join classes in internal arts. A must read!
Rating:
Summary: Long on mysticism, short on "combat secrets"
Review: I received this book as a gift, and not being a believer in mystical notions of chi, found it to be amusing, but not very informative so far as practical concepts and principles are concerned. If you buy into the whole chi thing, you'd probably enjoy this book. If you're looking for a book about real-world, practical application of these arts, this is not it.
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