I came across this message board and I just want to share a few thoughts about Oom Yung Doe. I trained at Oom Yung Doe for a year, I found the training to be strong and beneficial. I enjoyed training and I am glad I chose Oom Yung Doe to pursue martial arts training. There is alot of negative information regarding Oom Yung Doe and its practices and in my time there I never experienced any of the things I have read about. Oom Yung Doe is not a cult or a con, I was never pressured to do anything and the accusations regarding brainwashing and mind-control are completely ridiculous. I think alot of this confusion stems from people not having a full understanding of traditional martial arts. The Instructors always treated myself and the other students with the utmost care and respect. They were honest and always carried themselves with honor and integrity. People have made statements that they were harrassed or threatened when they left the school, but the instructors I trained under were supportive and encouraging, even when I decided to leave the school to pursue other interests. I was never afraid of being harmed for leaving. People have also made claims that Oom Yung Doe does not support education and advises students not to attend college. That is completely untrue, at the school I trained at they even give out awards to students for their academic accomplishments in higher education. I have had lessons with some of the National Instructors and they have a remarkable level of skill and ability. It was clearly evident that they have a deep understanding of traditional martial arts. I'm not trying to say that Oom Yung Doe is better than other schools or styles, but I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to develop themselves mentally and physically. Sincerely, Cathy.

Anyone considering Oom Yung Doe should read the published material about them, which includes very serious allegations.

See [www.culteducation.com]

Certainly, the above participant is entitled to express her own opinion about this organization. But other students have gone on the record with sharply contrasting and/or opposite views about this controversial school.

Clearly Oom Yung Doe has a deeply troubled history, which includes repeated claims of abuse and criminal arrests for tax fraud.

I was in Oom Yung Doe for a couple years in Minnesota, and I didn't have any bad experiences, nor do I think it was a cult (here). Troubled history? I didn't know about it at the time and didn't impact my training.

Pressure to live together - Never ever mentioned

High Fees - They weren't all that bad. It was good training, lots of instructors, I learned a lot, I sweat a lot, I have no ill will towards this training. I would say that I fully respect each and every one of the trainers I came in contact with and they equally respected me.

I would recommend anyone to form their own opinions before believing anything published. We all know that the internet has nothing but the truth on it, and the media always covers both sides of a story - NOT!

Rich

There are many schools without the baggage this one and it's teachers have.

Anyone interested in training could pick from a number of potentially safer alternatives.