Maung Gyi is a Burmese

Bamar

The Bamar are the dominant ethnic group of Burma , constituting approximately two-thirds of the population. The Bamar live primarily in the Irrawaddy basin, and speak the Burmese language, which is also the official language of Burma. Bamar customs and identity are closely intertwined with general...

 martial artist that introduced Bando

Bando

Bando is a defensive style of thaing focusing on animal-based techniques. The earliest meanings of the word were self-discipline, self-development and self-improvement. Later, it came to mean self-protection or self-defense...

 into the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Maung Gyi's father was Ba Than (Gyi). He was the Director of Physical Education

Physical education

Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....

 and Sports in the Ministry of Education in Burma. He always encouraged his son to maintain good health, participate in both individual and team sports, and practice different martial arts systems.

In the early 1960s, Maung Gyi formally began teaching Burmese Bando

Bando

Bando is a defensive style of thaing focusing on animal-based techniques. The earliest meanings of the word were self-discipline, self-development and self-improvement. Later, it came to mean self-protection or self-defense...

 at American University in Washington D.C.

In 1966, Maung Gyi established the American Bando Association (ABA) in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. In recent years, Maung Gyi has worked to promote modern Burmese Bando and to be accepted into the expanding community of Asian martial arts in the United States.

Maung Gyi is an accomplished martial artist, as well as a scholar of international law

International law

Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...

, psycholinguistics

Psycholinguistics

Psycholinguistics or psychology of language is the study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use, comprehend and produce language. Initial forays into psycholinguistics were largely philosophical ventures, due mainly to a lack of cohesive data on how the...

, and communications. He is a self-confessed Christian, and often incorporates biblical content into his instructional curriculum. Dr. Gyi was a professor at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.