Oopali or Upali was a 9th-century Burmese monk who is credited with founding
pongyi thaing
Pongyi thaing ( my, ဘုန်းကြီးသိုင်း ) is a Burmese martial art created by the monk Oopali in the 9th century. Based on the Hindu-Buddhist principle of non-violence and non-aggression, its objective is not to caus ...
and establishing a Buddhist order. His order still exists today in
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
and
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
but his fighting art disappeared. During the 19th century, the elder abbots Mogak Sayadaw, Mandalay Sayadaw, Mingun Sayadaw, Shwelbo Sayadaw and Anapura Sayadaw were the only monks who continued to teach the system in northern
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
.
Martial arts school founders
9th-century Asian people
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