Oom Yung Doe

Oom Yung Doe
陰陽道

"Kyong Gong Sul Bope" (경공술법 flying side kick) is an achievement claimed by John C. Kim. Here Kim purportedly leaps from the equivalent of an 8-story building.
Focus	Hybrid martial arts
Creator	John C. Kim
Official website	oomyungdoe.com

Oom Yung Doe (음양도; 陰陽道) is a line of Korean martial arts schools founded by John C. Kim (Grandmaster "Iron" Kim). In addition to teaching a broad range of physical movements and self-defense, the training also incorporates meditation, philosophy, and the use of herbal formulas and equipment. Some students describe substantial benefits including self-defense skills, mental and physical health, and improvements in conditions such as asthma, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and blood pressure. Critics, however, accuse the school's founder and instructors of unethical behavior, charging large fees, and pressuring students to commit to long-term contracts. Beginning in the late 1980s, several TV and newspaper reports publicized these accusations, and described the school as a "cult." Kim and four of the organization's instructors were found guilty of conspiracy to commit tax fraud in 1995. Despite those issues, certain benefits of the training such as increased lung capacity and the healing of treatment-resistant back pain have been demonstrated to be effective in clinical settings; and there have also been several news reports publicizing some of the benefits described by the students.

Oom Yung Doe represents itself as a synthesis of several martial arts styles, but primarily a line of traditional Chinese martial arts known as Yin Yang Dao ("Oom Yung" is Korean for "Yin Yang"). While the early history of Yin Yang Doe is not provided in detail, Oom Yung Doe literature describes a legend indicating that the first generation Grandmaster in this line was an individual named "Bagwa" who developed the style of martial arts known as Bagwa or Bāguàzhǎng (all this despite the fact that "bagwa" [八卦 - hanja representing the eight divinatory trigrams] is pronounced "palgwe" [팔괴] in Korean). The legend holds that Bagwa was born in a remote province of China around 1,500 years ago and taught his unique style of martial arts to the military, royalty, and prominent citizens. No information is reported with regard to the second through sixth generation grandmasters; however, Thomas White, a practitioner of Moo Doe martial arts, lists the seventh generation Grandmaster as "Wang Po." White reports that Grandmaster "Iron" Kim received the title of Grandmaster in 1974.

Kim emigrated to the United States in the early 1970s, and opened his first American school of martial arts in 1973, teaching Kong Su in Westmont, IL. In 1976, John C. Kim began operating a line of martial arts schools called "Chung Moo Quan" (충무권), teaching the same 8 martial arts styles that are taught in modern Oom Yung Doe schools. "Chung Moo Quan" was effectively renamed to "Chung Moo Doe" (충무도) in 1989, and again to "Oom Yung Doe" in 1999; the instructor corps and training techniques for the three schools have been similar, and they have all been headed by John C. Kim.