deconstructing OYD cult.com part 2
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OneMindOneSpirit
Jun 1, 2012, 9:40:53 PM6/1/12
to oomyungdoe_discussion
Here is a continuation of a previous post of mine, deconstructing
OYD's aptly named www.oomyungdoecult.com website. At the bottom they
have a link in which they continue; so shall I. OYD, please feel free
to sue me, or at least post that you have, for me using my free speech
and sharing my experiences with your cult, er I mean, school.
The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to
its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief
system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.
-- Each Oom Yung Doe school is an independently-owned business. Oom
Yung Doe teaches traditional martial arts techniques, which were
originally taught in the United States by John C. Kim. The martial
arts techniques are never presented to be the one “right” way to live
one’s life. Oom Yung Doe students and instructors come from diverse
backgrounds, including multiple races, nationalities, and religious
faiths.
We have previously went over exactly how each OYD school is NOT
independent of it's headquarters. Let suffice to say that the
prospective school owner/investor should just wait and see what
happens to them should they have literally ANY contrary word to what
OYD wants them to do with their school and money. One wouldn't even
need to wait that long in the first place, because any "licensed" OYD
school WILL have someone from the inner circle of OYD (a high ranking
member) as the controlling interest in that school. You will front the
money, they will have the control.
The martial arts are not presented as a "right" way to live but the
school's teachings and the way they present their philosophy certainly
are taught as such. There are too many examples to list here--
instructors are repeatedly told that by simple virtue of being an
instructor, they are higher and more knowledgeable on literally
anything than any student, be they a doctor, lawyer, businessman,
family man (while the instructor has none of their own), etc.
Kim worship is paramount. Certain obedience is required of
instructors, such as the giving of holiday/birthday money and there's
hell to pay if you don't toe the line. Kim is worshiped as a "higher
being" and "enlightened". Certain stories and legends from buddhism
and taoism are taken from their historical context and Kim's name is
inserted.
As for OYD calling itself the "truth", I have many memories of higher
ranking instructors telling me "where else are people going to go to
get meaning in their lives" and other things of that nature. It's best
in that moment to just smile and nod, feigning agreement and then
question yourself later why they are telling you this and why you
would want to continue in such a place.
As for unquestioning commitment, if you become an instructor, a
CONSTANT time requirement will be demanded from you. To be a teacher
anywhere a certain level of time commitment can be expected. OYD
however wants ALL of it, and an explanation as to why you aren't
giving literally 100% of all your time if you are not doing so. Long
nights, incredibly long "conversations" with unspoken rules that all
instructors must wait until the highest ranking person leaves before
they can leave and so forth.
Some of my own personal experiences include:
--being told to take out a cash advance from a credit card and just
give all the money to OYD. For what? Just because. I did not do this
of course, as I owed them nothing and doing such a thing is highly
irresponsible.
--being told to become a school owner (giving money) right after being
told I was "selfish" and "not giving enough"
--being told not to go to grad school and not to start a family
because such things would hinder me from being with OYD full time
--was berated for walking by the school and not stopping in to "ask if
anything needed"
--as for their claim of respecting religious backgrounds, I was mocked
for my Christian faith and for reading the Bible. Simple as that, they
do not practice what they preach or claim.
As I have stated before, I have no burning animosity towards OYD but
rather feel obligated to, in this information age, present all
information so that the real story can be known and the prospective
student may be forewarned as to what they are getting themselves into.
I wish OYD much success in business, but am saddened that they feel
the need to go about it with despicable corruption, underhandedness
and crookedness. It's just simple fact, no emotion, and I see their
claims on their OYD apologetics website as a gauntlet thrown down. If
someone is content with their OYD training, then more power to them.
It would, however, be more forthcoming of OYD if they presented
themselves as a place of martial dance and philosophy/new-age-
spiritualism rather than a martial art school.
We shall continue in part 3 in due time.
OYD's aptly named www.oomyungdoecult.com website. At the bottom they
have a link in which they continue; so shall I. OYD, please feel free
to sue me, or at least post that you have, for me using my free speech
and sharing my experiences with your cult, er I mean, school.
The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to
its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief
system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.
-- Each Oom Yung Doe school is an independently-owned business. Oom
Yung Doe teaches traditional martial arts techniques, which were
originally taught in the United States by John C. Kim. The martial
arts techniques are never presented to be the one “right” way to live
one’s life. Oom Yung Doe students and instructors come from diverse
backgrounds, including multiple races, nationalities, and religious
faiths.
We have previously went over exactly how each OYD school is NOT
independent of it's headquarters. Let suffice to say that the
prospective school owner/investor should just wait and see what
happens to them should they have literally ANY contrary word to what
OYD wants them to do with their school and money. One wouldn't even
need to wait that long in the first place, because any "licensed" OYD
school WILL have someone from the inner circle of OYD (a high ranking
member) as the controlling interest in that school. You will front the
money, they will have the control.
The martial arts are not presented as a "right" way to live but the
school's teachings and the way they present their philosophy certainly
are taught as such. There are too many examples to list here--
instructors are repeatedly told that by simple virtue of being an
instructor, they are higher and more knowledgeable on literally
anything than any student, be they a doctor, lawyer, businessman,
family man (while the instructor has none of their own), etc.
Kim worship is paramount. Certain obedience is required of
instructors, such as the giving of holiday/birthday money and there's
hell to pay if you don't toe the line. Kim is worshiped as a "higher
being" and "enlightened". Certain stories and legends from buddhism
and taoism are taken from their historical context and Kim's name is
inserted.
As for OYD calling itself the "truth", I have many memories of higher
ranking instructors telling me "where else are people going to go to
get meaning in their lives" and other things of that nature. It's best
in that moment to just smile and nod, feigning agreement and then
question yourself later why they are telling you this and why you
would want to continue in such a place.
As for unquestioning commitment, if you become an instructor, a
CONSTANT time requirement will be demanded from you. To be a teacher
anywhere a certain level of time commitment can be expected. OYD
however wants ALL of it, and an explanation as to why you aren't
giving literally 100% of all your time if you are not doing so. Long
nights, incredibly long "conversations" with unspoken rules that all
instructors must wait until the highest ranking person leaves before
they can leave and so forth.
Some of my own personal experiences include:
--being told to take out a cash advance from a credit card and just
give all the money to OYD. For what? Just because. I did not do this
of course, as I owed them nothing and doing such a thing is highly
irresponsible.
--being told to become a school owner (giving money) right after being
told I was "selfish" and "not giving enough"
--being told not to go to grad school and not to start a family
because such things would hinder me from being with OYD full time
--was berated for walking by the school and not stopping in to "ask if
anything needed"
--as for their claim of respecting religious backgrounds, I was mocked
for my Christian faith and for reading the Bible. Simple as that, they
do not practice what they preach or claim.
As I have stated before, I have no burning animosity towards OYD but
rather feel obligated to, in this information age, present all
information so that the real story can be known and the prospective
student may be forewarned as to what they are getting themselves into.
I wish OYD much success in business, but am saddened that they feel
the need to go about it with despicable corruption, underhandedness
and crookedness. It's just simple fact, no emotion, and I see their
claims on their OYD apologetics website as a gauntlet thrown down. If
someone is content with their OYD training, then more power to them.
It would, however, be more forthcoming of OYD if they presented
themselves as a place of martial dance and philosophy/new-age-
spiritualism rather than a martial art school.
We shall continue in part 3 in due time.
Dropped_d5150
Jun 3, 2012, 9:15:04 AM6/3/12
to oomyungdoe...@googlegroups.com
I wasn't in as long as One Mind but this accurately reflects my time in the cult.
Manik Jamai
Jun 5, 2012, 7:00:50 PM6/5/12
to oomyungdoe...@googlegroups.com
Good stuff...my wife was threatening to write a book, or do a screenplay about OYD, while I was still there, lol! Imagine the tension in our house, after we were recently married.
My friend who was still in OYD (very inconsistently) up until recent said that they lowered the prices quite a bit, "to reach more people." They are still asking the main instructor, "what do you think needs to happen to make the region grow?"
Yeah right...separate from Kim, learn from someone REAL and CREDIBLE, then you might have a chance to grow. --- On Fri, 6/1/12, OneMindOneSpirit <mindf...@gmail.com> wrote: |
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