Herding the Moo is the title of a new book by Joe Smith. While it seems pretty clear Joe Smith is a pen name, the story he tells is one every school owner could benefit from learning about. It’s a story of influence, abuse and classic cult like tactics designed to break down the student’s resistance while gaining control of all of his or her personal wealth.
The organization was created by John “Iron” Kim in the mid-70s as the Chung Moo Do school. The name has changed a few times and is now Oom Yung Doe.
The story in Herding the Moo is amazing and scary. This is a must read for a school owner.
— MATA Teachers Association
Herding the Moo has true accounts of earning a black belt in one of the most notorious martial art cults in the U.S. from beginning as a white belt, progressing through the ranks until reaching instructor. Joe Smith describes what it was like to train, earn rank and finally leave organizations known as Chung Moo Quan (later Chung Moo Doe and now called Oom Yung Doe).
Through additional observations of friends and colleagues over the years, Joe provides accounts of the training methods, practices and forms as well as the cult dogma, and reveals the cult has continued to evolve post federal investigations and with the departure of the most trusted members. Plus tales of wacky adventures for those thinking of earning a real black belt in a “royal style.”
