Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahah ah


http://www.chungmoodoe-il.com/stretch.jpg

http://www.chungmoodoe-il.com/csndoe.jpg

http://www.8ma-health.com/NIK_Colorado_Palgae.jpg

http://www.8martialartsforhealth.com/chongbong.jpg




Chung Moo Doe
Leader:
John C. Kim, aka Chong Su Nim "Iron" Kim

Alternate Names:
Chung Moo Quan
Oom Yung Doe
8 Martial Arts for Health

The following information has been provided by former members of Chung Moo Doe:
Description of the Group:
This is a personality cult using a chain of martial arts schools as its "front". People, particularly men, are lured into the group thinking it's a martial arts school, and they're going to learn about self defense, getting in shape, etc. Instead, they're subjected to mind control techniques to essentially get them to worship Chung Moo's founder, John C. Kim. Exhorbitant lesson fees are charged, providing Kim and his people with large amounts of money. In 1996, Kim and several of his top people were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States of America.

Behaviors:
Students of Chung Moo were pressured to move in together, and keep the "respect line" (the way we treated one another in school) the same on the outside as well as inside the school. People critical of Chung Moo, including parents, were to be shunned and kept in the dark about what really went on. Students, and particularly instructors from what I could see, were strongly urged to wear their hair and dress as John C. Kim did. Also, there was a general disapproval of dressing well among the students, as that meant you had money for clothes that could have gone towards John C. Kim.

Dietary restrictions weren't a big thing in my experience with the group, though eating hot soup and hot Korean food was encouraged during times of sickness, rather than consulting a physician.

Sleep was highly regulated in Chung Moo. On more than one occasion instructors urged students to sleep only a few hours a night, and boasted how little sleep they themselves needed. It was said that the Chung Moo forms (martial arts movements) could replace the human body's need for sleep.

Finances and money were a huge focus of Chung Moo; it's almost impossible to overstate the importance of money in the organization. Quite simply, past a certain point, you were expected to hand over all your extra money for Chung Moo lessons and teachings. Cash only, and it was disrespectful to ask for receipts, or copies of membership contracts.

Students were encouraged to spend all their free time either at the school or in the company of other Chung Moo members. Association with people not in the group was discouraged. Multiple jobs were often encouraged to help students pay the lesson fees, limiting their time even more.

Chung Moo required lots of an individual's time, not only with regular lessons, but special private lessons, belt courses, etc. These were strenuous workouts followed by indoctrination sessions. Once, I recall we had to hold extremely strenuous body positions, zoning ourselves out to block out the pain, and the instructors turned out the lights and had us all count out loud in a droning, monotone voice, putting us into an altered state of consciousness.

It was unthought of for people to act on their own without consulting instructors. College was a decision that was frowned upon.

People definitely had to report what they were thinking and doing, and the activities of others, to the instructors. In one instance, I was forced to admit in front of fellow students that I was a virgin. Instructors constantly badgered people with questions about their personal lives, finances, etc., and it was easily obvious that choosing not to answer would result in ostracization or ejection from the group, or, if you were a longtime member, verbal harassment and even physical assaults.

You were praised and rewarded for bringing down more money to the school and for appearing to try hard. If the instructors perceived you weren't trying hard, or weren't bringing in enough money, you were subjected to humiliation and beatings.

People were not at all encouraged to think as individuals. School always had to come first. Whenever an individual thought was expressed, "watch what you say" was the common response. Any semblance of "talking back" to instructors was met with harshly.

Chung Moo had extremely rigid rules of conduct; when to bow, how to bow, how to act, how to speak, what to do. The rules and rituals overshadowed everything you did in a Chung Moo school, and often what you did outside.

Students were expected to be totally subservient to John C. Kim, even if they never actually met him (like myself--I never met Kim). We were supposed to bow to his picture, bring down more money for the school on Kim's birthday (said to be April 1st), and pay towards lessons to show respect to Kim. We were trained to be dependent upon the group, often indoctrinated that Chung Moo was the highest expression of what it could be to be a person in this life.

Information:
It was said Kim was the "champion of all Asia", when no such title has ever existed. Claims were made about what Chung Moo could do (cure disease,etc.) that have never been backed up. Prices for the lessons weren't openly advertised. Forms and movements were held "secret", only to be seen by those who'd paid the high lesson prices.

We were certainly kept quite busy, so we really didn't have time to think. With keeping members from anti-cult information, it really didn't come out about what Chung Moo really was until a couple of years after I'd left, so that really doesn't apply. However, we definitely were encouraged to look down on those who'd left the group.

Information was strictly controlled in the organization. Claims about Kim's near-supernatural abilities were never disclosed up front, only after a period of indoctrination. Instructors strictly controlled which students knew what about the organization and what it truly required. Students knew the least, instructors knew more, head instructors knew even more, and regional instructors knew more still. There was a near-worship for people above you, with the ultimate worship reserved for Kim.

Spying was encouraged. I was involved a few times in bringing to instructors' attention the fact that other students were deviating from Chung Moo principles. The doctrine, not personal relationships, mattered most.

Instructors encouraged certain students to "pal around" with certain others. The "blue literature", the standard Chung Moo pamphlet, was held nearly as important as a Bible to a Christian.

People definitely suffered after having confessed things to instructors. When an instructor asked something, you had no choice whether to refuse. Information said in private could be made public any time, and was. I was present when several students were embarrassed this way.