Dr. Maung Gyi is most widely known as a Grandmaster of Bando, there is so much more to this dynamic individual.

He was born in Burma in the 1920's. His family has a long history of serving in the military going all the way back to 1760.  So it was no surprise at age 16 Dr. Gyi joined the 10th Gurkha Regiment.  In 1944 his unit joined with American troops and he was considered part of the original U.S. Rangers.  With his cultural training in Bando and his military training,  he had a strong background which would be needed in his future.  Dr. Gyi served in World War II,  Korean War, Vietnam, Malay War, and Gulf War.  His assignments consisted of rescuing pilots shot-down in enemy territory, riot control, etc.  Unfortunately, he has been a Prisoner-of-war (P.O.W.) twice.  Currently, he holds a rank of General.

He has practically visited every country in Asia due to his military travel .  This has given him the rare opportunity to study a multitude of martial arts.  Dr. Gyi has had the chance to study three different Japanese styles of Karate,  has had exposure to Korean martial arts,  training in Kali of the Southern Philippines, and much more.  For a short time Dr. Gyi had a fighting career against other martial artists and regular boxers.   Combine these experiences with the art of Bando and Dr. Gyi's combat experience and you have a martial artist in the truest sense of the word.

As an educator Dr. Gyi has a PhD. in Linguistics and he has taught at Harvard for five years.  Dr. Gyi offers training classes to law enforcement officers and the U.S. Army Ranger Training Unit at Fort Benning, GA.   Training sessions are usually dedicated to soldiers who fought in either WWII, Korea, or Vietnam War.

Dr. Gyi is also very passionate that the memory of those who served during wartime are remembered so he created the American Bando Association.  The A.B.A. is a war memorial martial arts organization that has two objectives.  One is to help veterans and the community.  The second is to preserve the combative systems taught during WWII, the Korean, and Vietnam War.  It is a non-profit organization and all of its proceeds go to helping veterans.  The American Bando Association has 72,000+ members. Approximately 15,000 members are in the United States.  The majority of its members are involved in the military and law enforcement.