Oom Yung Doe

8 Martial Arts

According to Oom Yung Doe literature, the schools teach eight different martial arts as a unified system. These are listed as the following eight styles of martial arts:^[14]

• Hap Ki Do / Ai Ki Do
• Kong Su / Tae Kwon Do
• Udo / Ju Jitsu
• Kom Do / Samurai
• Kung Fu
• Tai Chi
• Bagwa Chung
• Ship Pal Gae

Tournaments

Movement taught by a master is often demonstrated in a tournament. In tournaments, practitioners demonstrate movement and self-defense ability, and are judged based on:

• Strength
• Correctly connecting movements
• Speed
• Coordination
• Balance
• Accuracy
• Focus (eyes)
• Top body movement
• Middle body movement
• Lower body movement^[13]

Acupressure and herbal equipment

Herbal formulas and acupressure points are an essential part of Oom Yung Doe practice. Herbal formulas used by practitioners are said to improve circulation and remove toxins from the body, and some movements taught within the school are designed to stimulate internal pressure points (similar to acupuncture).^[1][2][4]

Critics have questioned the value of herbal products sold by Oom Yung Doe. In a television news investigation, Steve Given and Allen Sayigh examined a bag of dried herbal materials sold for fifty dollars and estimated that its contents were worth only a few dollars."^[3]

Medical benefits

Oom Yung Doe has been represented as a way to build health and longevity; students and instructors report increased physical health as a major benefit of Oom Yung Doe practice.^[4] Students report benefits such as strength, flexibility, increased energy level, and a general sense of well-being, as well as improvements in conditions such as asthma and diabetes.^[1][4] One study published in the Journal of Asian Martial Arts found that students practicing qi gong techniques taught within the school had significantly better lung capacity than the general population (20-25% greater for students 35 years and younger, and 30-45% greater for older students).^[15]

The school also teaches techniques designed to repair damage to the body. A retrospective study of 58 patients with herniated disks who had been treated by the school indicated significant improvement:

After 120 days, 90% of the patients had been completely free of back pain for 2 weeks; another 4% of patients had partial relief. These patients all had complete resolution of pain after 140-160 days of therapy. All patients who had taken leave from work were able to return.^[16]

Some studies and news reports have described health-related benefits associated with breathing exercises and movement training taught within the school, including increased lung capacity and improvement in certain chronic conditions. ^[15][16] and there have also been several news reports publicizing some of the benefits described by the students.^{[1][2][4][10]}

Uniforms and ranking

Beginning Oom Yung Doe practitioners are ranked into "sections" until reaching first degree black belt. Beginning students receive a white belt, sections of which are dyed black at each promotion until the rank of first degree black belt is achieved, at which point the entire belt is black. Higher-level instructors have a gold belt as part of their uniform trim, although their rank continues to be that of "nth degree black belt".^[17]

Oom Yung Doe instructors are likewise promoted through a series of instructor positions. Rank generally indicates skill and ability, while position generally indicates a practitioner's involvement with teaching. The two are independent, although there's a typical correspondence between them as indicated on the chart on the right.^[18]

All Oom Yung Doe practitioners wear standardized uniforms while practicing in the school. Students and beginning instructors wear white uniforms, and main instructors and higher-level practitioners wear black uniforms. Practitioners at 3rd degree black belt and below wear Korean-style uniforms similar to Karategi. 4th degree black belts and above wear Chinese-style ("Kung Fu") uniforms which button together at the front (similar to a button-down shirt).^[17]

1989: Allegations of violating the Consumer Fraud Act in Illinois

In 1989, the Attorney General for the State of Illinois filed charges against the school, alleging violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act related to physical fitness service contracts, including claims involving contract disclosures, cancellation notices, and escalating course fees. The case continued until 1994, when it ended without trial in a consent decree in which the defendants did not admit wrongdoing or misconduct, agreed to comply with applicable laws governing physical fitness businesses, and paid $4,000 to the State Project and Court Ordered Distribution Fund for Consumer Enforcement and Education.^[19][20]

Conviction for tax conspiracy

^[21][22] : Kim and thirteen other instructors were charged in federal court with a single count of conspiracy to defraud the United States IRS in the late 1980s. Unlike tax fraud charges, conspiracy charges do not require proof that the planned acts were actually carried out. Kim and four other defendants were convicted on December 6, 1996. For sentencing purposes, the court estimated that the conspiracy involved approximately $2,172,800 in underreported income. The four defendants were each fined $500 and sentenced to five years in prison, while Kim was fined $2,550 and sentenced to five years in prison. He was released on April 13, 2001.^[21][22][23]

Kim's claims of achievement

John C. Kim claims to have competed in and won the All Asia Championship (Chung Dong Yang Moo Sul Yun Moo Dae Hwey) in 1956 in the Cho Leung area of Pusan. Internal Oom Yung Doe literature lists Wang Po as the sponsor of the tournament, and Yang Chou Fai, Wang Sei Kau, and Hwan Byung Quan as the presiding judges. Also said to be in attendance were Mok Jing Quan, Chae Jung Su, Park Hyun Su, Yu Gee Han, Chil Sung, and Park Yung-Gil.^[27] This claim has attracted criticism. Nam Tae Hi, one of the founders of modern Taekwondo who operated a competing school in Chicago at the time,^[28] stated during a television investigation that becoming “champion of all Asia” in the 1950s was “not possible.” The report also noted that martial arts credentials can be difficult to verify because there are no recognized boards in the United States to approve schools or certify instructors.^[24]

Another achievement claimed by Kim is a technique he refers to as "Kyong Gong Sul Bope" (경공술법 or flying side kick) which he states involved jumping from the equivalent of an 11-story building. Kim also claimed that, while in the United States in 1972, he performed the technique again by jumping from the equivalent of an 8-story building and landing without injury on a sloped surface.^[29]

Critics have disputed these claims and characterized them as exaggerated or legendary.^[5]

Cost of Training

Critics in the early 2000s alleged that the school’s training was expensive and that students were pressured into paying for additional courses or seminars.^[3] Even some critics of the school, however, acknowledged that the rigorous training included valuable self-defense skills,^[5] and students reported additional benefits such as improved health and recovery from injury or illness. One student described the training as “like paying for therapy and personal trainers and a gym and all of that stuff rolled into one”,,^[3] while another stated that Oom Yung Doe charges “twice what other [schools] charge. But what they teach there is 10 times more than what they teach at other schools.”^[5]