Was I In A Cult? - Chung Moo Quan — Part 1: “Kult Fu Fighting”

Episode Date: April 24, 2023

It's the 1970s and Kung Fu is all the rage. So when 16-year-old Russell Johnson looks to channel his (inner) rage, he signs up for a local class to learn how to become a peaceful warrior. Only what he doesn’t know is that what he signed up for would one day almost cost him his life Support us on Patreon! Your donation is our salvation (we made that up but it sounded nice ‘n culty…) Truly, your contributions really do help. https://www.patreon.com/wasiinacult Follow us on Instagram: @wasiinacult Have your own story and want to be on the show? Email us: [e-mail] Find Russell: https://www.deceivedpodcast.com And as promised, gruesome arm pics (not for the faint of heart): https://www.deceivedpodcast.com/gallery

It's the year 1990, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Russell Johnson, books an appointment with a prominent lawyer. You see, he felt he had been legally wronged and he wanted a professional opinion. He sits across from the lawyer's desk and regales her a long yet remarkable story about how years prior he had joined a simple group in the hopes of improving his body and mind. She listens to the story and she tells me that she thinks I was an occult. But I wouldn't listen because like who thinks they're in a cult? You know, if I was in a cult, I'd know it was an a cult, right? You know, I'd be going around with a dome on my head or something.

And so I wanted that question answer and I actually go to the library. And I check out the book Combating Cult mind Control by Steve Hasson. And I read that book from cover to cover that night. It was mind opening that all of a sudden I get this epiphany, all these things that were happening, the last two years of questioning were starting to be answered. And as he continues his journey down Wake Up Call Lane, he gets sent a VHS tape of an investigative newspiece regarding this particular establishment. So he pops the old tape into the good old VCR and presses play.

In this program you'll hear from victims of these cults, not just impressionable adolescents, but well-educated professionals lured into groups that took their money and manipulated their minds. They say that behind all the mystical symbols and philosophy, the pseudoscience and psychology, the religion all the mystical symbols and philosophy, the pseudoscience and psychology, the religion and the rhetoric, lie dangerous organizations that are cult and cons. I was blown away by it.

I realized that I had been in a cult. And it was a martial arts cult. Everybody always thinks of religious cults, but they never think of a commercial business. You wouldn't think that you're going to go to a coffee shop and a pizza parlor and right next door is going to be a cult in the mall. Hidden in plain sight. Welcome to Was I an Acult everyone. I'm your host Liz Ayakuzi. And I'm Tyler Miesen, but first back up list, did he just say martial arts cult? He sure did. Like Jiu Jiu Taekwondo. Karate? Karate, yes, Tyler. It's like Mr. Miyagi said himself. No such thing as bad student, only bad teacher.

Teacher. Teacher say, student too. didn't do. Take out your life. Curify me. to purify me. Don't spare my life. Crucify me. My name is Russell Johnson. I was born in 1964. I was born in North Minneapolis and I am the youngest of eight children. My dad had left when I was three years old and he left for one of my mom's friends. So my mom, here she was, he was 33, trying to raise eight kids on our own, no

support for my father, we're on welfare. We actually lived in a housing project and it was really run down place. I started getting fights. I thought every day, and the thing that happens when you fight every day is you become very good at it. I didn't want that to be me but the rage that I had when I was on a fight was like it was uncontrollable. But during school I started defending people that I saw being bullied. Now Russell is a very unassuming nice guy. If we had this intimate conversation, I never would have thought he was someone you don't want to fuck with. But as we continued our interview, one particular face kept coming to my mind.

Mark Ruffalo. Mark Ruffelow. Excuse me, Mark Ruffelow? Like, the Hulk. Oh, I see. Sorry. The only Hulk I acknowledge, of course, is Lou Frigno, the original Hulk from the 70s TV series. Real Muscles, painted green. They painted his muscles green every day. Yeah, he was a bodybuilder. He was huge. Bill Bixby played

Bruce Banner and he'd get angry and then they'd cut and it'd be this massive bodybuilder, Lou Friigno, and he was painted green and then he'd flip a car or whatever. Well, that's Russell, who most of the time is the unassuming Bruce Banner, until you piss him off. The school was very tough for me. I got suspended so many times in the fifth grade that I failed, and I had to repeat it. I started like failing in high school. I hung out at what they called the burnout doors and leather jacket and we all, you know, we all thought we were cool and stuff like that and rockers and I had all these friends, right?

And I never had friends before. By the time I was 16 years old, one of the fears that I had was that it was going to end up in prison somewhere because that's where people in my neighborhood went. I was looking for a father figure, I was looking for a direction. There was a TV show called Black Belt Theater, and Black Belt Theater, they showed all these Asian Kung Fu movies. And I remember I was at a friend's house and we were sitting around a whole group of us. And we were getting high and watching these films and after we got done, we all went out in the yard and we started playing Kung Fu. Marce Harts back then had like a mystical value to them. There was Bruce Lee and Chuck Norse and a black belt was almost magical.

Okay, so if you happen to be of my generation, go ahead Liz, just say old. I was just gonna say delicately aged, like a brinawar. Sure, fine. But when I grew up, in about the same era, give or take, as Russell, Kung Fu was really a big, big deal. He's actually 10 years older than you, I think. I guess he would be, wouldn't he? It's fine. They'll think I'm 60. I look great. The 1973, the TV show, Kung Fu came on. And David Keridine was the peaceful warrior, the Chauwan monk. That peacefulness, the idea of a peaceful warrior, was appealing to me and it was appealing to a lot of

other people my age. Well, you know, the song back then, everybody was Kung Fu fighting. It was an awesome song, you know, Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting. Ha ha ha. Everybody was Kung Fu fighting. Written and performed by Carl Douglas, Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting was released in 1974. And how does the story go? Oh, interesting, Liz, I'm glad you asked.

Well, the story goes that Jamaican-born and UK-raised Carl Douglas, at the time was a little-known soul singer. One day he sees a couple of kids and they're doing karate kicks to the sound of a pinball machine and he said, damn, it looks like everybody is Kung Fu fighting. Immediately he says the song came to him in full and he quickly wrote it down. But I don't think he thought much of it at the time. No, he didn't in fact. It kind of kept it in his back pocket, his bottom drawer song as they call it. And then a little while later he is in the studio with a producer named Boudou who was Indian. They had finished recording a song entitled I want to give you my everything. I want to give you my everything.

It's actually a pretty good song. Yeah, it is a good song. But they needed a B-side to the record. For those of you who didn't understand the VCR reference from earlier, the B-side is the flip side of the 45 record, which is the smaller vinyl record. The small one with a big the to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to the to give. I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want the tho, I want tho, I want tho, I want the the the the the the the the the the the the, I th. I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I, I th, I, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want the, thin, the, thean, thean, thean, thean, thean, thean, thean, thean, thean, I want the, I want the, the B-side is the flip side of the 45 record, which is the smaller vinyl record. The small one with a big hole in the middle. Now normally, the song on the B-side is an afterthought.

Unless your Queen and your B-side song happens to be, We Will Rock You. To the A-track, we are the champions. Both great songs. But for Douglas and B-Doo, they needed a B- and they only had 10 minutes left in their recording session to do so. So Douglas suggests they record his silly Kung Fu song. This song was not only a hit, it was a behemoth worldwide smash, going to number one in 13 countries and selling millions upon millions of copies. Perhaps the greatest of all one hit wonders. Now some might venture to say that it's filled with cultural misappropriation. But Douglas stand strong by his song, denying any racist elements and saying it was a fusion

of the West and the East. Something he was told could never be done. And he did it. I dare you to listen to the song and not do a high kick. I'm doing one now. I'm doing a Kung Fu kick. Five out of five listeners are karate chopping in their car right now. Beating the shit out of that steering wheel. The song has been covered many, many, many times, most notably, perhaps, by Silo Green for the movie Kung Fu Panda. And in his not so available downtime, you guys, Tyler over here found many of those versions

and cut us a compilation. I sure did. Call me the Kung Fu DJ. I'm never calling you that. But if you want to hear the mix in its entirety, you can download it on our Patreon. So sign up for Patreon and have your own Kung Fu dance party. You don't even need to invite people. It could just be you Kung Fuing in your kitchen. Breaking boards. So apparently this moment in time, it was true.

Everybody around the world was Kung Fu fighting. Everybody except our main man, Russell D. Johnson. And it was at that time that I decided that I wanted to take martial arts. So I went to the phone book and the closest school to my house was the school of Chummanquan and the master was Master John C. Kim. And it said that Kim was the champion of all Asia and that he had taught 80,000 students worldwide.

But the biggest factor for me was that it was the closest school to my house. The schools of Chungmu Kwan are scattered throughout the Chicago suburbs and in Massachusetts, Minnesota, California, and Texas. They attract students of all ages, teaching what they claim is eight martial arts in one. Instructors say that by developing a strong mind and body, students learn not only self-defense but also to understand themselves and find true happiness. I walked into the school and first part of the school is the waiting room.

Inside that waiting room there was pictures of John C. Kim. He had a picture where he was pulling a van with his teeth or that he was sitting on a bed of nails having cement broken on his stomach with a sledgehammer. And that was amazing. Can you pull a van with your teeth, Liz? I can't, but I can lick my own elbow. You cannot, can you? No, no I can't, but you know what I can do? I can laugh without smiling.

Let's see. That is not a trick. Terribly frightening. I'm sad for all the people who can't see this. I don't want to question you. See, who's the cult leader now, John? Who's John? Chumukwan schools were founded by John C. Kim, a former maintenance man.

School signs proclaim him martial arts champion of all Asia. School posters show Kim demonstrating Chung-Mukwan techniques, crouching like a tiger, soaring like an eagle, using his whole body as a weapon to attack. And so here is Russell, chilling in the waiting room, eyes bouncing between cool pictures of the great John C. Kim and the closed doors of the main gym. Sometimes known as the dojo. And moments later... Off that door came the man who was going to change the course to the rest of my life.

For reasons we understand, Russell has changed this person's name to Aden. And he was a good-looking Lantino man about 26, 27 years old. He had a presence from the moment that you saw him, he went and told me to punch at him. And he hit me so many times that I couldn't see it. And then next thing I know he's behind me and he's tapping on my shoulder. I was amazed by him. So I'm like I want to learn this. So I started taking the classes, but the first start is white belt. Everybody goes as a white belt. The highest belt that you want to achieve is first degree black belt.

So at white belt when I started, Mondays we would learn kata, basic blocking and kicking. Tuesdays we would learn hopkido. Wednesdays we would learn kicking. Thursdays defense against a punch Friday's judo. But it was the 70s and Russell had recently invited a distracting young woman into his life. Miss Mary Jane. I used to know her quite a bit. I'm more close with Mr. Marcus Jasper. Who is that?

Chewy gummies. Delicious gummies. That's when I was smoking the pot pretty heavily and I wasn't retaining a lot of the movements because I was high. And so one one day Aiden calls me into the office and at that point he gave me a choice to leave the school or quit smoking pot and I took the weed that I had and I flushed it down the toilet. I out quit smoking pot and became a dedicated student of his and a lot of times I would get to the school at 12 p.m. and I'd stay till he closed at 10 p.m.

I was there all the time. I excelled under Aiden. I had failed nine classes out of 15 in high school and he made a deal with me that if I got straight A's that my lessons would be free. And you could see C's, D's and F's in one quarter going to straight A's. What I found was a male role model that I thought was really the epitome of what I was looking for. He was strong, he was present. He gave me direction.

And it was something that I didn't have. And it was good for me at that time. So, Tyler, right now, Aiden, he sounds pretty class act to me. He got him off the drugs, pulled thugs, thugs, thugs, thugs, thugs, thugs, thugs, thugs, thugs, thugs, thugs, thugs, the time. So Tyler right now Aidan he sounds pretty class act to me you know he got him off the drugs pulled up his grades gave him some free classes. You're forgetting something Liz nothing in life is I know I know I know I know but just this one time can it just be a good man doing a good deed to help a young kid out just just this one time please do you even listen to our show do you know that nothing Liz is truly

free hugs are free okay true hugs are free dancing barefoot in the rain that's free I suppose that's free sure being a good listener that's also free what did you say what you say? What did you say? Screw you, Tyler. I hate to say it, but anxiety? It seems to be a constant companion of mine. You don't have many companions, Tyler, but at least anxiety is there for you. It always seems to be there at my side. I call it the Lump-throat syndrome. Yeah, and we're not alone.

According to the National Institute of Health, almost 20% of US adults had an anxiety disorder last year. That's one and five people. Actually, I'm surprised it's not more. And there are many ways to lessen anxiety and depression. Therapy, diet, exercise, listening to Liz's soothing affirmations on repeat. You are loved. Ask for the rays. Stand in your truth. But there is a new tool to improve your mental health. At home, ketamine therapy. Mind Bloom is the leader in at home ketamine therapy, having safely helped thousands of people overcome their anxiety and depression. Unlike traditional talk therapy, ketamine works quickly and doesn't have the unpleasant side effects of

traditional antidepressants. In a study of over 1,200 Mindbloom clients, 89% reported improvements in their anxiety and depression after only two sessions. And right now, Mind Bloom is offering our listeners $100 off your first sic session program when you sign up at Mindbloom.com slash cult and use promo code, cult. Take the first step and break free from your anxiety and depression with Mind Bloom. Mind Bloom.com slash cult and use promo code, cult. Hey Liz, why don't you take us out with some soothing affirmations? Your teeth are beautiful, you do not need invisoline. You don't

need a job, you were born to be a stay-at-home dad. The answers you seek are hiding in your leftover cereal milk. You have a very nice jump shot. So here is Russell, fully committed to his new martial arts life with his teacher Aden. He would take us through these long workouts and then he would have us hold these mental forms where you would hold your arms out straight and they would be exhausting. And then he would have us hold these mental forms where you would hold your arms out straight and they would be exhausted. And during that that time, he would, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he th, he th, he would th, he would th, he would th, he would thi thi thi thi thi thi, thi, thi thi thi. So, thi. So, thi, thi, thi. So thi, thi. So thi, thi, thi. So, thi, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi thi thi thi thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, theeeeeeeeeeeeeeee is thin, thin, the hold your arms out straight and they would be exhausting and during that time he would have the conversations about Master John C. Kim and his supernatural powers. Former followers were told he had supernatural powers. Many believed it. It was said that he had a lot of healing powers. They told us that when he was in a room,

you could see aura a halo around him. He had a third eye in his forehead. He could read your mind. His powers are phenomenal. What he said was that John C. Kim jumped from 11-story building to the ground without being harmed. And then, you know building to the ground without being harmed and then you know one of the stories was that he could run from Minneapolis to Duluth in 45 minutes which takes two and a half hours to drive and that's

running a 206 miles per hour. I mean I can't even jump off a couch without being injured. I can't jump off anything without being just a tiny wee bit in my underwear. But you didn't ask me that, did you? I didn't. No one. None of our listeners asked you that. All of our listeners understand. I'm sure a few of them.

Just the mommies. And we were told that instructors and students were killed for disrespecting John C. Kim. They had a story that I heard from Aidan that Bruce Lee was one of John C. Kim's students and that he had left the organization and disrespected Kim because he started teaching Americans Chumukwan. Several students say they were told that Chumu Kuan was students say they were told that Chung Muquan was responsible for the death of Bruce Lee. Now this is normally where I would explain who Bruce Lee is but if you don't know who

Bruce Lee is you should just stop right now and consult your local library. I was going to say get up frontal lobotomy because you don't deserve to have a brain. Wow harsh. Some people don't deserve to have a brain. How harsh! Some people don't know everything, Liz, just me. I barely know who Bruce Lee is. But you know who he is. We obviously know who Bruce Lee is. He's related to Tommy Lee.

And the story in Chalmukwan was that John C. John Cim sent a horror bell from Asia to kill Bruce Lee, and he did it by injuring him without touch and that's like energy is sent through the body and that Bruce Lee had died later from that. And that story had two parts because first the one part is to say that Bruce Lee, one of the greatest martial arts masters that ever lived, was taught by John C. Kim, elevating John C. Kim to that level. The second part was, we kill Bruce Lee, we'll kill you. Lee died in 1973 of excess fluid on the brain that may have been caused

by drugs. The Chung Mu Kwan version is that Lee was one of their followers who divulged secrets. The idea that these legends that you learned watching Kung Fu, Bruce Lee movies, blackbell theaters, that that these were real, that that Master John C. Kim had learned through his training how to actually do these things, right? And that if you earn that ability, you too, Monday, might reach a level where your mind and body become one. I wanted to be like that. I really did.

I don't need all that. But if you can teach me how to jump off a couch without pissing myself, I'd want to be be likethat too. My goal was to be a Chumman Kwan instructor. They had me believing that if I stayed in Chumakwan that I would be able to owe my own school and that I would be able to retire at the age of 35. When you see people coming in and they're paying several hundred dollars a month for lessons, you believe that, okay, someday that money will return to me. They would tell me that whatever I gave to John C. Kim and Chumul Quan would be returned to me tenfold. And there it is, the ever-present dangling cult carrot. But first, Russell had to learn

the language of Chon. When you first go into a school, first you'd bow to the flag and then you would bow to the instructor and then you'd say, hello head instructor, be right to ask if there's anything I could do for school. School always came first and then my second question would be, be right to ask if yourself care for anything. And then the third thing I would ask is be right to step into the practice area. And then he would give me permission to go into the practice area and change. And at the end I would ask it be right to change and leave. Be right to ask, be right to say, so if you're going to respond. Because that's how John S. Kim taught him to speak. John C. Kim was the ultimate human being.

He was the, he was the person that everybody wanted to be like. And so if he was to speak broken English, Americans would speak broken English. Be all right to chime in here with some transitional voice over Tyler so we can get to the next part of the story seamlessly. Not necessary. And then the other thing th th th th thi th th th th th th th thi the other th thi th thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the other thi, thi, thi, the other thi, thi, thi, thi, the- that that that that that that that that that, he was that, he was that, he that, he that, he th. He the, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he th, he th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, the, the, the, the, the, that, that that that that that that that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that, that, th so we can get to the next part of the story seamlessly? Not necessary. And then the other thing that they got into was rituals. So we weren't allowed to say the number four, it was three plus one. Four is an unlucky number in Asia. It's very similar, I guess, to the word for death. There was superstition being

taught and when I first started I would see Aidan and he would take a piece of food and he threw it out the door and then later on I would learn that it was actually a superstition of giving out to spirits to keep him away evil spirits. They believe that mirrors were the gateway to another dimension, and that if you broke a mirror, that it was the worst thing that you possibly could do, because when you broke that mirror, demons from the other side could come through. The ritual was that the instructors had

to go out and find dog shit, fresh dog shit, and they had to take the mirror and they had to wipe all the edges of the mirror completely and dog shit. And then they had to find a flowing body of water, I don't know why, and they had to throw these pieces of mirror over the shoulder. You're shitting me. I shit you not, Liz. I dog shit you not. Be all right to rub this dog shit all over this mirror.

Only if you do it four times. And here come the demons, Tyler. But at this point, Aden and all the others at the dojo had Russell convinced that John Kim had supernatural powers. He was the second coming of Jesus Christ, but he killed Bruce Lee. So he kept going to class five days a week. The course was never ended. There was always another course. And then when I was graduating from high school, I was told by Aidan that I was going

to be allowed into Black Belt course. I had to bring down a $500 deposit. So my family had my graduation party. And then I brought my money down. I had to bring in a white envelope. It had to be cash. Students were told that to show their respect they must pay for their lessons in cash. Some former students speculate there might be another reason. I'm no dummy I know why they want a cash. Why? So I have to report it.

It goes right into your pocket for Christ's sake. I'm no dummy, I know why they want to cash. Why? That's not to report it. It goes right into your pocket, for Christ's sake. The best way to show respect was to hand it over in a white envelope with two hands. When I did that, after he accepted the money, he informed me that I wasn't being accepted in the black belt course, but I was accepted into the lower course called Special Private. I started questioning a little bit like bait and switch. I was promised one thing and then offered into another.

I started dating again a gal that I had dated when I was 14, and now I was 19, and she started to see the control that Aiden was having over me. And she don't want me going. She wanted, like him or me, and I chose her. I started working in a factory and I started buying the things in my life that I wanted. I bought myself a water bed. Water beds were popular back then and it was the nicest bed that I was a nice the that, and I was the nicest that, th. that, that, that, that, when that, when that, when that, when that, when that, when that, when that, when that, when that, when the that, when the the the the the the the the the that, when that, when that, when I was the the that, when the the the the, the, the th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, that, that, that, that, that, that, when that, when that, when that, when the the that, when the the the the the the the the the the the the the the that, the the the the the the the the the the the they they they they they was the the the they was the the that, that, that, that, that, that buying the things in my life that I wanted. I bought myself a water bed. Waterbeds were popular back then. And it was the nicest bed that I ever had. And then I got a nice stereo.

My biggest purchase was 1992 Trans Am. It was Maroon. I had crushed velvet red interior. It was a beautiful car. Dude was living that perfect, pimped-out 80s life. Amen. Waterbeds. Did you know in 1985 over 3.4 million water beds were sold in the United States? No, I did not know that. How would you know that? Why would I know that? That same year, in fact, my parents got a water bed, a big huge water bed with shelves

and padding to fill it up. You'd have to hook a hose to it and run it outside and turn the hose on to fill up your waterbed. So stupid. No, it was peak 80s luxury. So luxurious. There's a kink in the hose. I'm trying to fill up the bed. I'm telling you, and to move it is a bitch. Yes, it was. To get the water out, you had to actually siphon the water out of the plastic mattress. And then the wooden frames were huge and you had to, they weighed like hundreds of pounds. So it was not something you moved just to sweep under the waterbed. This is almost as dominant vention as the bumpet.

Please, what is a bumpet? A bumpet is this circular hair situation that women put at the top of their head to create this false illusion of extension hair and this big, volumed bun. Sounds genius to me. I mean, there's no reason you can't have a waterbed and a bumpet. Both of them would come in handy. The bumpet is far easier to move. So here is Russell. He's away from the group finally.

Just him and his lady driving his bitch and transam, cranking Ozzy, and riding the waves of his sweet-ass waterbed. A year goes by with no with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with no with no with no with the riding the waves of his sweet ass waterbed. A year goes by with no martial artistry. But then he and his girlfriend broke up. And one night he got drunk. And I wrote a letter to Aden asking for permission to come back. There was part of me that believed that John C. Kim had these supernatural powers and the part of me that wanted to be like Aden that could move like him. And I wanted the life the life the life the life that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he to to to to that wanted to be like Aidan that could move like him and I wanted the life that he told me that I could

have. So a couple of weeks go by and I get this telephone call from another instructor. He like reads me the riot act and how disrespectful it was that I I left and you know that they're going to give me one more chance and this disrespectful it was that I left and you know that they're going to give me one more chance and this is my chance to prove myself otherwise I'd never be given another chance again. A second chance perhaps that he would have rather never have gotten. Did you know there are almost 17,000 working doctors in the United States? Does that include Doctor Who? He's British. What about Dr. J?

Retired. How about the most common doctor name? Mmm. Asher, Emma, Liam, Olivia, Austin. Doctor names, Liz, not baby names. What is it, Tyler? It's John. Dr. John.

What a letdown of a fact. Not to mention many types of doctors. There's, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, tho, tho, there, there, there, there, there, th, th, to to to, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to thi, thi, thi, the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. to to the. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to mention many types of doctors, there's dermatologists, urologists, psychologists, pathologists. Cornologists. You made that up. I think what Tyler's getting at is with so many doctors, it can be tough to find the right one. But the best way to find these professionals is with Zoc-Doc. Zoc doc.

the only free app that lets you find and book doctors who are patient reviewed, take your insurance, and are available when you need them and treat almost every condition under the sun. No more Dr. Roulette or scouring the internet for questionable reviews. With Zocdoc you have a trusted guide to connect you to your favorite doctor you haven't yet met. Who apparently is probably named John. Millions of people use Zoccdock's their and book a doctor in their neighborhood who is patient reviewed and fits their needs and schedule. Go to ZocDoc.com slash Inacult and download the Zoc doc app for free.

Then find and book a top rated doctor today. Many are available within 24 hours. That's ZOC-DEOC.com slash an occult.ZoC.doc.com slash in a cult. Did you know that there are more female doctors than male doctors? But still named John? So Russell receives this demeaning phone call from another instructor, not Aden. And so I came down to the school. But Aden was no longer working there. And they said that he lost his mind over a woman. But the truth was that he had started to question his own involvement.

He knew that John Sikim wasn't the master of all Asia and he knew that the supernatural powers didn't exist. So I meet the new instructor. What should we call him? Keith. Let's call him Keith. Nice name. I had to hand in my belt and I was put on probation and I had to earn my belt back. So I started training with them, but then at that point, Keith tortured me. Mentally, physically, took me through workouts that were beyond physical exhaustion. There was one night where I'm training, and he's standing over me why I'm doing a form called the doji and

the doge is kind of like ocean form where you're doing this wide movement with your arms and you have to stay really low and for an hour and a half he stood next to me with a bamboo sort they called gondocce and he hit me in me in the back and hit me in their legs. One of the more frightening characteristics of a cult is the physical intimidation used to command loyalty and obedience from members. He'd tell me how weak I was and tell me to cry, and this went on for months. I never knew, like, one day I'd walk into the school and I'd be like, drop down to push-ups or I'd be yelled the, and their their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, their, their, their day I would walk into the school and I'd be like dropped down to push-ups or I'd be yelled at and then the next day it's like it never happened and yell happy to see you and I really fucked with my

brain and sorry the language but it did. Culp alienate their members from families and friends who might question their conduct. Changmukwan instructors have urged students to abandon their future plans, saying lessons were a better education than college and that marriage would get in the way of training. Instead, students were pressured to move in with other believers. Why was that done?

They have more control over you, so if you had no other influence other than through Chumukk. We saw all the higher belts all the instructors live together there was like five of them living in one house within one with his wife and kids and a couple other instructors and you know it felt like okay if you're gonna in advance this is what you do. So he siphoned the water from his water bed, carefully wrapped his stereo and bubble wrap and moved into a house with the other members of the dojo. We still bowed and stuff and did the food ritual at home and open doors for each other at home and

I'd start gotten criticized because I had a transam right. The way they looked at that was that my car should be sold for payments. To get cash, students were urged to sell their cars and use up their savings. I was in love with that car, so I let it go and then I sold my stereo, I sold everything I had. Because according to them I hadn't earned it yet. You know, we've heard some thir thi th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th that that thate thate thate thate thate thateateateateateat th thathe thatheir that, that, that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that th. My th. My th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th. th. th. that, that, that, that, that. My that. My that. My thateateateateateateateateat, that, thateat, thateat, thateateat, that. My thateateateat. My thateateate, I had, because according to them I hadn't earned it yet. You know, we've heard some terrible things on this podcast, but that is right up there.

One night, I am sleeping and I feel this slap on my waterbed. And I jumped to my feet in my underwear and I'm in bowing position, I'm like, yes, head instructor. It was Keith. The reason he had woke me up is he told me that my bed was facing the wrong direction, that I could not sleep with my head facing north because evil from the north could get in to my mind as I slept that night. If these evil spirits could take over me. And again, he had to siphon the water out of his water bed and move it facing north. What a bitch!

And then higher belts, some of them moved in. I actually had to move out of my bedroom and move into the basement on unfinished basin because one of them was higher belt than me. And if you can even believe it, once again, he had to siphon all the water out of the bed. You know, that alone should have been enough for him to go full Lou Ferrigno on those guys. Mark Ruffalo. I would have said Mark Ruffalo. Lufordano could kick the shit out of Mark Ruffalo. But not C. thrugge would get a call and it would be Keith. And he'd tell me, come to school right now.

And I would have to tell my boss I'm sick. I have to leave. It was a test. School became before family, school became before my job. And then the other thing was is that Keith would keep me late. So he knew that I would have to start at 3.30 right? And I would go to the office, ask to leave and then he would get into this conversation and he wouldn't stop. Keith was purposely doing that making me leave my job. And so I had so many tardies that I ended up getting fired.

From there, I started working a lot of different jobs. I went from being a janitor at a bowling alley, to being a pink or 10 security guard. But then Keith had chosen me to be his assistant. You know, this Keith guy is really starting to piss me off, Tyler. And I started being trained by Keith Brown on how to run a school. It was during that time that I started to understand how they manipulated me, and then now they were actually teaching me those techniques of manipulation.

As you help recruit and sign up students, you will be able to move up. Before contracts were signed, students say instructors put them through strenuous workouts and humiliated even hurt them during class. So student would come in and we would take them through a free lesson and during the free lesson what we did is we actually gave them what we called an attitude adjustment so we first take them through a workout wear them out. In Changmukwan experts say the mind control begins with the martial arts training, physically wearing down students. And then we would tell them that we're going to lightly make them fill an open palm slap on their stomach.

What would happen is we would do it what we would call lightly, but it would actually knock the wind out of them. Once you did that, something triggers in the brain, and the instructor becomes the dominant, and the student becomes the submissive. What happens is that they go into an altered state of consciousness. In that type of altered state, they're very susceptible to suggestions. It's the same kind of thing that takes place in a hypnotic trance. It was amazing to me that once we did that, how people would conform. By the time I would get a student into the office, hopefully he's very intimidated and willing to accept my direction and my word.

And your direction would be? My direction would be to get him in a black belt course. Sign on the dotted line. You got to understand like so these people are coming in to this martial arts school because they want to learn how to defend themselves and the place that they're going into is the place to assaults him. So I went from this kid who was bullied as a child. And the place that they're going into is the place to assault some. So I went from this kid who was bullied as a child to assaulting people who just wanted to learn how to protect themselves. And then while I was signing up to students, I learned the different terms that they had for people. They actually referred to blacks as well-done ones, that they had been left. They actually referred to blacks as well-done ones that they had been left in the oven too long. And then Jewish were hooked noses, gays were Liberace types, and these were the teachings of John C. Kim. So he can pull

vans with his teeth while being a racist bigoted ass hat at the same time. What a talent. That's multitasking. Kim said that in the beginning that God made black too dark not good, white not too good. Third time turned out just right, God made Korean. So that was the saying there, and it was just ignorance. There was a lot of things that we were being taught that were his issues. So someone who was gay came in, we weeded him out. We got in on him, made him feel pain.

So that's what they called when you give someone an attitude adjustment. And sometimes I would be called to the office and Keith would say to me, I want you to get in on him, make him feel pain. So I went and I did a movement where I block a punch and I turned around and I backkick him and I knocked the window out of him, bring him to the ground. And he didn't know why I did this. But when Keith asked me to do it, I didn't question. I just said yes head instructor. I mean I get it when your sense they tells you to sweep the leg, you don't question it. Sweep the leg. No mercy. No mercy.

So what what they did and they would teach me this later is that when someone came up and they signed up as a student, they would take their membership membership their their their their their their their their their their their their their teach me this later, is that when someone came up and they signed up as a student, they would take their membership photo. They recorded everything about that student. What kind of car did he drive? What kind of work did he do? Was he married? Was he single? Did he own a house? Is he connected to any money? Cults recruit followers by targeting vulnerable people? Former instructors say Changkwan schools kept dossiers on students,

which detailed just that kind of personal information. And then what they would do at night is they would take this membership photo and we would pass this photo around in a group. And then we'd discuss how to manipulate them. And the thing is we actually thought that we were doing this for their own good and the whole idea was to get them in more advanced classes. We looked for people's weaknesses, we would spend time in groups going over each individual student and determining how to best hit their mind as it was put.

Maybe they have some health concern that, oh, we can fix this for you, but you have to pay for higher lessons, or if you pay this money now, you can be like us. You can convince them, hey, your life is terrible. Look at your job, look at how people treat you, look at how your wife and family are. You need to improve all of that, and I'm going thia thia thia tholk, thia tho their their thi their thi their their their thi, their thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi need to improve all of that, and I'm going to show you how to do it. Then that's when they're going to hire courses and you become a better instructor. And just how much was all this costing the students exactly? At the end I was paying $350 a month.

And then he had to come down with deposits, like Black Belt, $25,000. Instructors course was $50,000. In the Olympic course, I believe it was another 50 to 75. Every time that they needed to like raise a lot of capital, they would go and make all these promotions and tell people, bring as much money down as you can, and you're going to the next course. At first, Changmukwan classes are relatively inexpensive, but once enrolled former students were pressured to sign a series of increasingly expensive contract. There was the people that were promoted on skill and there was people that were promoted on how much money that they

could bring in. I mean, I saw people that went from a white belt the third degree black belt in six months and you're probably talking six figures when you're at that point. So this goes on for about three more years. And then it was May 1987 I started learning how to run the schools and Keith left a note for me one night and it had instructions of the things that I was supposed to do in closing the run the schools and Keith left a note for me one night and it had instructions of the things that I was supposed to do in closing the school that night. So he wrote a note and he didn't realize that he didn't leave it for me. And I come into the school and he's pissed off at me.

Former students and instructors say violence was used to keep them in line as well. They would beat you up physically, you know, if you didn't do whatever they wanted you to do. And he orders me to do 100 Chomukwan push-ups. And what the Chomukwan push-up is it's a combination of a yoga, downward dog and a push-up and it has this circular motion. And when you do that motion, it creates this tension in the tricep muscles that actually starts to contract the blood flow in the arm. And so without warming up that day, my muscles are still cold, he tells me to do a hundred of these push-ups.

What would happen if I was doing a regular pushup, after a while, I wouldn't be able to do a hundred of these push-ups. What would happen if I was doing a regular push-up, after a while, I wouldn't be able to push anymore. But because of the motion, the downward dog motion, the swooping motion, you could continue to do it, and that's where the injury occurs. Well, that night, my arms blew up like right away. My arms were completely locked out. My arms were pumped so far blood that that that that that that that that that th th th th th th th. th th th th th th th th th th thi thi. thi. the thi. their they they they they they they they they they they they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd they'd toe. I I I I I'd toe. I'd tooke. I'd tooke. I'd completely locked out. My arms were pumped so far of blood

that they quit circulating. The blood flow was trapped in there. And they kept building pressure. I couldn't touc, and I had to put my food in a bowl, and I had to like put my face down on it and eat like a dog because I couldn't lift my hands up to touch my face. And then the next day I came in and Keith was worried because you could tell that there was something wrong in there. Of course Keith believed they higher-up trainers

could heal Russell. After all they were taught healing techniques from John C. Kim himself. But these trainers, they weren't coming to town for another three full days. I would have to wait till they were in town to look at me. And so that night I went home and I had to lay in bed with my arms completely straight out in front of me, and I couldn't sleep. I started to feel an ache down in my kidneys, and I decided I'm gonna go to the hospital, and I don't want anyone know I'm going to the hospital. And so I go at 3.30 in the morning,

everybody's sleeping. I wanted pain pills, muscle relaxers, sleeping pills, so I could make it tell when the national instructors could look at me. And I didn't want them to know because this whole idea that John C. Kim could cure anything, I didn't want them to believe that I didn't have faith and master and that that would have been a sign of weakness. So I drove to the hospital which is only about a mile away and imagine you're trying to drive and your arms are locked out in front of you......... the, you. And the, th. And th. And th. And the th. th. their, th. th. th. th. th. their, th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi their thi their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their thi. I thi. I thi thi the toe an toean teananann't tea tea tea tea toea toea toea toea toea toea thea you're trying to drive and your arms are locked out in front of you, you can't move. And then I got into the ER and they told me that I had compartment syndrome. Compartment syndrome is an incredibly painful condition that occurs when pressure

in the muscles builds to dangerous levels. What happens is the built-up pressure leads to decreased blood flow, which prevents nourishment and oxygen from reaching nerve and muscle cells. But when untreated, it can lead to paralysis, disability, or even death. And they told me that my muscles were dying and that the dead muscle tissues were going into my kidneys. What they have to do is they have to do a fasciatomy where they cut you open, that if I didn't have this operation that my kidneys would shut down and then I would die. And when they told me this, I tried to leave and they wouldn't let me. Well I I believed that John C. Kim and Chumacawai could heal me.

It was said that he had a lot of healing powers, that he could essentially heal anything. And so I wanted to leave because I knew that I would be in trouble for not going to them. Even on his near deathbed, the brainwashing of the cult was so strong that it nearly cost him his life. And what happens next? Well, you'll find out our next episode. You know, that, that is instilled in me during my time in Shumakuan that the punishment for what I was doing was death. There's a lot of people listening to every word that the higher belts say and they'd do anything, even kill somebody, if they were told to kill somebody. So I had in my head that I was going to be killed for what I was doing.

Thank you all for listening to Russell's incredible. thi. thi. to to to to thi. to to to to the to to to to the to the to to the to to to the the to be killed for what I was doing. Thank you all for listening to Russell's incredible story. I mean it has to get crazier in the second episode, right? Does it get crazier? It does, it really does, which is insane to think is even possible after his arms blew up like the actual Hulk. And look, there are photos of his arms, guys, for UMassicists on his website. Oh, and Russell just had a birthday a tholkiiiiiiiiii. A couple the th. A couple th. A th. th. thusususususususususus. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to their incredible's incredible's incredible's incredible's incredible's incredible's incredible's incredible's incredible's incredible's incredible to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to their incredible their incredible their incredible their their their their their their th. th. thus. thus. thus. thus' incredible thus' incredible thus' thus. thus. thrust. thrust. their thrust. their their thrust. thrust. thrust. thrust. thrust. thrust. th. th. photos of his arms, guys, for Umasikists on his website. Oh, and Russell just had a birthday a couple days ago. So, happy birthday, Russell. We hope this is the birthday present of your dreams. You know, listeners, we do appreciate all the support that we have gotten so far on Patreon.

These contributions truly do help, so please help us to continue making the show. Shout out to Ian Cook. Shout out to Ian Cook, one of our wonderful listeners who gave. Thank you, Ian, and thank you everyone else. Thank you, Ian. And if you do love this show, we ask you to continue to share it, share it with friends, share it with strangers. Just continue to help spread the word. And if you

don't love this show, well, my name is Tyler. That's very funny, Liz was I an occult is written, produced and hosted by the se, Liz Ayacuzzi. And the master, Tyler Missom, who can pull a van with his teeth. It's produced and edited by the Black Belt, Kristen for Amelia. An additional editing and sound design and mix by the newbie white belt Rob Perra. Everybody is Kung Fu Fighting. Don't forget, you can get on our Patreon. Download Kung Fu Fighting Mix soon to be a number one hit I assure you Tyler can you laugh without smiling no but I can cry without frowning seems

more fitting right now do it no I can't do it you can't do it did you know though you can't fake a genuine smile did you know that in your eyes there's a muscle that when you I can't remember the name of the muscle, but it's in your eye and you can't fake it. Just start playing the Oscar music. You can't truly fake a smile. But only a genuine smile engages the muscles in your eyes, which gives you that twinkle in the eye that comes from...

Seeing my face, I know. I genuinely make you smile. Not a fake smile in a photo. So there you go. Well, I think that is interesting, but I've seen a lot of fake smiles, so I'm gonna... But you don't have the twinkle in the eye, unless you're really genuinely smiling, unless you have a smile attached. Oh, really? And that's our show. The end. Don't spare my life.

Crucify.