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Testimonials
The Right Choice: ... “It was suggested to me to join the School of Oom Yung Doe. It was the best thing I ever did for my condition.”
After neck surgery my life changed. Nerve damage to both arms and a metal plate from disc C5 to C7 as a fusion made everyday tasks difficult. The range of motion in my arms was 30%, and in my neck about 10%. I was told I would not be able to do something as simple as running a vacuum, no rowing, no back and forth motions, and, if I wanted these daily motions to improve a second surgery was recommended. I passed. After 4 years of efforts from traction to steroids I was still limited and in severe nerve pain at times. It was suggested to me to join the School of Oom Yung Doe. It was the best thing I ever did for my condition. As many of you, I also questioned how a martial art school could help me. I soon realized my thinking was wrong. As my pain diminished my activity grows. Once again I can do things with ease. I will be forever grateful to the instructors with their patience and knowledge they have helped me with. The benefits gained from the School of Oom Yung Doe can be life changing for you to.
...“When I started Oom Yung Doe (7 months ago) at the age of 54, I was decidedly out of shape: no muscle tone, loss of breath from the most minor exertion, and my sense of balance was, well, off balance. In other words, I had a long row to hoe. A critical component of my development was and continues to be the school instructors and the International Level Team. Without their patience (lots of it), support, and skill in teaching the forms, I would have never made it this far. I can honestly say that Oom Yung Doe is one of the more difficult things I've ever done, but it is also one of the most rewarding. I feel physically better than I have in years. I have built muscle strength, learned how to breathe deeper, and my balance has much improved. And, because I'm constantly challenged both physically and mentally, I keep coming back.”
My name is Maryse, and I am 50 years old. When I joined the Oom Yung Doe School, I didn't think that the moves I learned were going to be beneficial to me so quickly-I thought it would take a lot longer. I frequent Davis Square a lot, and I've passed by the Oom Yung Doe school dozens of times. Finally, one day, I decided to fulfill my curiosity, and I walked in and inquired about the school. Shortly after, I registered for a two month trial. I began the lessons, and quickly realized how much I was enjoying the classes. Not only did friends and family notice an improvement in me, but I also noticed how much more energetic I was. I was smiling more and less stressed-just genuinely happy. Not only were there mental and emotional changes, but there were physical changes as well. As I lost more weight, I became more focused. The most defining moment for me was when I fell down two flights of stairs. The lessons that I learned regarding fall techniques, I feel, saved my life. As I first started to learn how to roll, I was making faces and thinking that "Are you kidding me? I, Maryse, roll!" I thought it was something I would never accomplish, partly because I was scared and partly because of self doubt. With the careful tactics of my instructors, their patience, and their professionalism, I became more confident with my rolling lessons. The roll techniques and the "learn how to fall" lessons saved my life. The lights were out on the stair well, and I missed the first steps of the stairs. Without even giving it a second thought, I immediately changed to a roll position using my right hand to protect my neck and left hand to land on my side. As I reached the bottom of the steps, I honestly believed I had broken my neck. It took a few minutes for me to readjust myself, but I did. After a few minutes, I shifted my hand and realized that, while I was a little sore, I was ok. If it weren't for the lessons I learned at the Oom Yung Doe School, I probably would have been severely injured, or maybe even paralyzed.
Today, I learned a bit about the power of Foundation level movement. What I learned was truly amazing, and one of the more exciting experiences I have had to date at Oom Yung Doe. I recently signed up for a course specifically designed to address my mid-body strength and flexibility. As part of this course, I have the opportunity to learn a Foundation level movement passed down from the International Teaching Team. This movement is supposed to target my ability to move my hips and mid body. I was definitely curious what to expect from a Foundation movement. To be honest, the movement itself does not seem particularly remarkable to me. It is challenging, yes. But so are many of the movements I practice. Nothing about the movement was particularly striking. But when I went into practice today, I noticed a few things that really shocked me. First, unlike usual, I did not need a 10-15 minute warm up before I felt like I could begin to move correctly. Despite the fact that it had been 4 days since my last practice, my first few kicks snapped from my hip so strong and high that I thought I was going to fall over backwards. The next shock was when I reached down to do some stretching. Despite my years of practice, I have a problem with my mid body flexibility, and normally, when I get to school, I can stretch down somewhere halfway between my knees and my toes. Once I'm warmed up, I can usually reach my toes. But today, still not warmed up at all, I reached right down, past my toes, until my fingers were entirely under my foot! Without the slightest trace of a bend in my knee! And it actually felt good! Never in my life have I done that before today. By now, I'm looking around the room to see if anybody else is seeing what I'm seeing. (Of course they're not... I'm just stretching.) I start moving around, trying to see what else is going on with my body today, and I realized one more remarkable improvement. For the past 3 months, I have been nursing a hip injury. It was a bad sprain at first, but I was able to practice on it, and within a few weeks it settled into mostly a tightness and an ache. But it had hung around for the past few months, requiring that 10-15 minutes of slowly working into my practice to really get warmed up. But today, for the first time, there was really no sign of it. No sign that it was ever there. There were a few other moments during the practice, along the same lines. But it's basically summed up in those stories. The fact is, my flexibility had changed pretty significantly, and in a very short time. But the most remarkable part of my experience is exactly how short a time it was. The benefits I'm describing will be experienced by anyone who practices traditional Moo Doe movements consistently. But I saw these benefits as the result of a single practice. One 30 minute session practicing this Foundation movement, and the next time I go into school I can wrap my fingers under my foot, and I can move in and out of T position in a way that has never quite felt comfortable before. To me, that is a bit difficult to believe, and hard to explain. I wanted to share the experience to show how powerful the right movement can be. This movement, for me, at this point in my training, with all the work I have done to allow me to practice it more correctly, seems to be just what I need. I'm very thankful for the opportunity to learn, and all I can say is, keep practicing hard; you never know which movement will be the key to unlock the next step on your path.
I am a 76 year old female and for about forty years, I have suffered with pain and limited movement in my right shoulder. About one year ago I had surgery to repair my rotator cuff by stitching the torn muscles, tendons and ligaments back together. After several months of physical therapy I had some recovery; but I still had limited range of motion in my shoulder. I also was having difficulty with small muscle control in my right wrist and fingers. After one of my Tai Chi classes I mentioned my concerns to my Instructor. He told me that he might be able to learn movements from his higher belts to help ease the stiffness in my shoulder and ease the pain I was still having in my neck. I told my Instructor that I would be willing to try this recovery plan for me. He gave me some suggestions as to how I could use the program to improve my health; not only my shoulder but my overall health. He showed me some movements that at first were a little difficult, but within a very short period I began to feel and see improvement. After a few weeks we added a small amount of weight to the movements and I began to feel improvement in my strength. Very soon, I noticed a change for the better in the strength I had in my shoulder muscles, as well as a much greater range of motion. The next thing was to begin meditation to relieve the stress and tightness in my neck and back muscles. I also found that this technique helped relieve emotional stress. Another aid to my continuing recovery was the "Herbal Muscle and Joint Kit," which is a paste that can be applied to ease soreness, along with a spray to further aid recovery. I am very happy to pass along the success I have had with my progress. This therapy is doctor approved. My husband, who has been a medical doctor for over fifty years, has been impressed with my improvement and encourages me to continue using Oom Yung Doe to benefit my well-being. Another benefit I have received is that I sleep better; because I am no longer awakening several times during the night with shoulder pain. Thank you so much for improving my quality of life.
My name is Steve and I am a Second Degree Oom Yung Doe Instructor. I trained in Oom Yung Doe from the age of 28 until I was roughly 35 years old. I left school to focus on other things and pursue a number of personal goals. I am now 43 years old and returned to training this past September. I can't even begin to explain how happy I am that I did. Training was always a source of strength, confidence and great health for me. However, the level of knowledge that is now being passed by Grandmaster is astounding compared to before. I am 100% certain that it will not only expedite my ability to regain what I once had from training but, it will also help me quickly move far beyond where I was mentally, physically and spiritually back then. When I was 21 years of age I was in a very bad car accident. The vehicle I was driving was sandwiched between a car and a van almost simultaneously and I then crashed into a telephone pole head-on. The driver of the car that struck me blew through a STOP sign at about 35 miles per hour while she was looking for a contact lens in her vehicle. I was not wearing a seat belt and my car was totaled. At the age of 21 a man feels invincible and that, coupled with some bad medical advice had me in a back brace and back to work the day after the accident. I was told by doctors at the time that I had "sprained" my back and the brace would help. The brace only made things worse and for nearly a year I walked crooked. I have lost count of the number of times in the past two decades when I have re-injured my back, been unable to walk upright or been hospitalized with serious back problems. I have also seen every type of "expert" and tried every type of "treatment" without real success in terms of truly correcting the problems. Now that I am 43 years old, the injuries I sustained back then have begun to catch up with me and affect my health and my life very negatively. I recently signed up for the Back Program at the Natick School and after only one month into the program, I just know wholeheartedly that, in time, the issues I have had with my back will be resolved once and for all. Presently, I am practicing a special series of about six movements about five times per week. The series of movements was designed specifically for me by the International Team based on detailed information I provided them about my condition. After only about one month's time, I can already tell that the movements are exactly what I need. I am experiencing the strengthening and re-alignment of some of the injured areas as well as some pretty amazing and powerful flows of energy and heat throughout the injured areas that I have never felt before. I can tell things are healing. I am certain that the Back Program is exactly what I need to correct my major body problems once and for all so that I can move forward in my training. For me, it's like taking two steps back in order to take five leaps forward later on. It is a very worthwhile investment. Without our health we have nothing.
Three weeks ago I started my program for my shoulder and upper back and neck pain. All my life I have had problems with my posture. Because of it I have lived with constant pain in my upper back and neck. Then in September 2008 such acute pain started in my left shoulder that the discomfort disrupted my job and my ability to practice Oom Yung Doe. I could barely write on the white board and needed my students to help me. I sought hot packs, ice packs, acupuncture, deep message and medical help where my orthopedic surgeon prescribed extensive physical therapy. When he displayed my x-rays I could see the bony hook that had developed on my rotator cuff due to arthritis. My Doctor told me that eventually people like me have surgery to shave down the bone. I decided to invest in the program. The first few times I practiced the exercises they kicked the wind out of me. I felt completely drained, exhausted and I would shiver with chills. Then after a few days practicing the movements released a surge of sobbing emotion that seemed to spew from my shoulders, neck and upper back. I continued to practice and the movements either made me feel exhausted or make me sob. I cried either because of the emotional release or because the exercises had made my body feel unbelievably relaxed and comfortable. Feeling good was unfamiliar. It was like I had been in a prison my entire life and let loose without twenty dollars to find a room, meet my probations officer and start a new life. My very chains and I grew friends, So much a long communion tends To make us what we are: - even I Regain'd my freedom with a sigh.) from THE PRISONER OF CHILLON by Lord Byron (1788-1824) Now after three weeks of practicing these movements every morning I go for many hours with comfort. I have had to face some challenging situations this last week and I was able to do so without my neck and upper back developing a crippling spasm. I am now writing on the white board in the classroom again and I look forward to being able to practice movements in Oom Yung Doe that I have avoided for the last six months.
Martha, Age: 48, Occupation: Math teacher
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