Expose of Dr. Mang Gyi

**tgace** · Posted On: 7/20/2010 3:26pm

I think I will stick with believing that what Gyi himself said was his age/BD back in 1972 as pretty concise seeing that it jibes with the BD that pops up on opensource data searches on him. The 1920's dates didn't seem to surface till after the POW network hammer dropped on him.

**Craig Jenkins** · Posted On: 7/20/2010 3:35pm

The more I read, the more I regret the challenging claims he appears to have made toward the end of his career. Here's a guy Bullshido might otherwise love - who fought full contact, eschews kata, apparently taught pretty much for free, and has a style that people seem to respect. To damage that in any way for the sake of gilding the lily ... it's just not clear why?

I'm not disputing the evidence. It's just a shame really.

**Yamabushi** · Posted On: 7/20/2010 3:51pm

There's a significant error on the pownetwork write up. It claims:

The Gurkha units did not participate in Falklands war and were on ships in route when the war ended. A few Gurkhas did indeed go ashore AFTER
the Falkland war.

In fact the 1st Battalion 7th (Duke of Endinburghs Own) Gurkha Rifles actively participated in the war taking Mount William without much resistance. They were said to be "Deeply disappointed" that the Argentinians fled rather than fought.

While this doesn't affect the fact that Gyi is a liar it may need comment if anyone links to pownetwork as a source. Or someone with contacts to the site could ask them to make a correction.

**tgace** · Posted On: 7/20/2010 4:30pm

Originally Posted by Craig Jenkins

The more I read, the more I regret the challenging claims he appears to have made toward the end of his career. Here's a guy Bullshido might otherwise love - who fought full contact, eschews kata, apparently taught pretty much for free, and has a style that people seem to respect. To damage that in any way for the sake of gilding the lily ... it's just not clear why?

I'm not disputing the evidence. It's just a shame really.

I agree. Dr Gyi is in an odd position when it comes to Bullshido investigations. That's why I inquired upthread if this was going to be worth the effort.

For some people it's about the ego gratification of having other people think that you have BTDT. Unfortunately it seems to be all too common. In the tactical shooting world the trend is towards people gilding the lily regarding their gunfighting experience.

**Soldiermedic** · Posted On: 7/20/2010 5:57pm

Originally Posted by Craig Jenkins

The more I read, the more I regret the challenging claims he appears to have made toward the end of his career. Here's a guy Bullshido might otherwise love - who fought full contact, eschews kata, apparently taught pretty much for free, and has a style that people seem to respect. To damage that in any way for the sake of gilding the lily ... it's just not clear why?

I'm not disputing the evidence. It's just a shame really.

There are actually katas in Bando and other Burmese martial arts, called akas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aka_(burmese)

**tgace** · Posted On: 7/20/2010 6:06pm

I'd be interested to know when the Kukri first made it's appearance in Bando. I couldn't find any reference's to it or the Gurkha's pre 90's and wonder if the Gurkha claims and the Gurkha blade all appeared at the same time?

**Craig Jenkins** · Posted On: 7/20/2010 9:23pm

Originally Posted by soldiermedic25

There are actually katas in Bando and other Burmese martial arts, called akas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aka_(burmese)

My apologies - I did not mean to represent that I had any personal knowledge of bando whatsoever. I had read in one of the articles that he didn't teach using kata, and I took that as representative. A poor choice, and thanks for setting this straight.

**Craig Jenkins** · Posted On: 7/20/2010 9:26pm

Originally Posted by tgace

I'd be interested to know when the Kukri first made it's appearance in Bando. I couldn't find any reference's to it or the Gurkha's pre 90's and wonder if the Gurkha claims and the Gurkha blade all appeared at the same time?

Sorry heading to sleep - did come up with this single reference
http://martialtalk.net/wiki/index.ph...&printable=yes

"In 1933 Gurkha officers formed the Military Athletic Club at Maymo in northern Burma. This organization was involved in training and teaching of the Burmese martial arts (Draeger and Smith). After the Second World War, a lot of the Gurkhas decided to stay in Burma and helped the further development of Bando. This was probably how the kukri was introduced into Burma and into the Burmese martial arts."

**tgace** · Posted On: 7/20/2010 10:07pm

Good find, but I guess what Im trying to ask is if the Kukri was always a part of Bando in America and the ABA (from the early 60's on) or if it suddenly appeared with the stories of Gurkha combat?

**tgace** · Posted On: 7/20/2010 10:18pm

Another open source website (this one just gives names and ages so Ill link to it), lists his current age as 74.

Birth year 1936. 6-7 yo in 1942...9-10 at wars end.

And as way of verification, the wife and children names associated with that search match this:

Dr. Gyi's wife, Patricia, and his two daughters, Melinda and Serena, have been very understanding and supportive of his work. They know better than anyone that he is driven by his short-term and long-term goals, and his strategies to achieve them. He has faced many obstacles and failures in his life. But he never yields. He is never discouraged. He considers failures and mistakes to be learning experiences. He meditates to regain his inner balance and moves on to accomplish the next project. And, today, Dr. Gyi finds solace in painting FOLK ART on spiritual subjects.

I can't see anybody, immigrant or not, who has been living in the US since the 60's, NOT having established some solid documentation regarding date of birth.