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Business Spotlight

Oriental Moo-Do School

Updated November 19, 2020

Proclamation presented April 28, 2016 to Oriental Moo-Do School at Cerritos City Council Chambers.

Grand Master (GM) Chan Yong Kim, 9th Degree Black Belt in judo and taekwondo and a graduate of Yong-In Martial Arts University in Korea, arrived in Gardena, California, in August of 1971 after teaching in Australia and several countries in South East Asia. He immediately established the Oriental Moo-Do School (OMS).  

In 1973, with his school enrollment booming, GM Kim searched for an area where he could expand. Although he wished to settle in Cerritos, there was no available area in which to establish a martial art school, and therefore he found a small space in the City of Artesia. 

In 1994, GM Kim located the perfect space in Cerritos, on South Street and Carmenita Road. Cerritos was ideal due to its central location in the Los Angeles basin with convenient freeway connections, growing community and developing businesses. GM Kim considered his school a business enterprise and, thanks to the tenets of martial arts training—discipline, respect, mental focus and perseverance—he was confident that participants would gain tangible benefits that would allow them to enjoy success in their future endeavors, and life in general. Even now, former students seek out GM Kim to thank him for the valuable lessons that they learned through their past training.

Oriental Moo-Do School provides martial arts training in taekwondo, hapkido and judo. Classes are arranged for all age groups, from beginning to advanced levels. Oriental Moo-Do School also hosts tournament sparring by invitation only.

GM Kim’s three children grew up in the City of Cerritos and are products of the ABC Unified School District, including Leal Elementary, Cerritos High School and Whitney High School. His children graduated from UC Irvine and UC Berkeley before becoming a chiropractor and optometrists. His son, Dr. Jimmy Kim, captured a Gold Medal for the United States at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in the Taekwondo, Heavy Weight Division.

For all the benefits his family enjoyed in the City of Cerritos, GM Kim enjoys giving back to the community by serving as a Property Preservation Commissioner for the City of Cerritos. Additionally, GM Kim continues to expand his organization as the Oriental Moo-Do Federation.

Among the hundreds of Black Belts that the OMS has produced, some chose to share their knowledge by opening OMS satellite schools in various locations: Escondido, Poway, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest and Loveland, Colorado. GM Kim has formed the Oriental Moo-Do Federation, overseeing and presiding over activities in all locations, including seminars, rank promotion examinations and acting as liaison to international and national martial arts communities.

The office of the Oriental Moo-Do Federation is located in the Oriental Moo-Do School facility at 13345 South Street in Cerritos. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 2:30 to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The phone number is (562) 631-5307.

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