Grandmaster “Iron” Kim founded the Oom Yung Doe martial arts schools in the United States in the 1970s. There are currently 20 licensed Oom Yung Doe training facilities throughout the country. Oom Yung Doe is rooted in a number of East Asian martial arts that originated in Korea, China, and Japan. Oom Yung Doe incorporates eight martial arts styles into one, based on traditional Moo Doe (Martial Arts). The integration of the eight styles--Ai Ki Do, Tae Kwon Doe, Tai Chi Chung, Samurai Sword, Jujitsu, Ship Pal Gye, Bagwa Chung, and Kung Fu--into a unified method of training serves to strengthen and enhance practitioners’ capabilities.
Certified Oom Yung Doe instructors have received thorough training in the techniques and teachings developed by Grandmaster “Iron” Kim. The Oom Yung Doe schools offer various training programs for prospective students, ranging from introductory sessions to advanced black belt programs. Training is structured around the students’ particular needs. Oom Yung Doe instructors personally assess each student’s strengths and weaknesses in order to assist him or her in achieving mental, physical, and spiritual development.
Throughout training, Oom Yung Doe movements work with the body naturally to promote healing rather than prescription medication to alleviate pain or soreness. Such a practice is based on the tradition that traditional martial arts, (Oom Yung Doe) can provide the tools to not only fix but actually heal oneself naturally without the intervention of modern medicine.
Oom Yung Doe relies heavily on training the inner self as a tool to maintain balance. Oom Yung Doe is a means to achieve not just physical conditioning but also self-fulfillment, self-esteem, and self-awareness. As a result, Oom Yung Doe has become a way of life for its students, and it continues to gain advocates in the United States.