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PUNE: When the petite
Dr Seema Rao was confronted by a towering 95 kg man last fortnight, she was unperturbed. Constantly frustrating his efforts
to grab her, she flounced around his massive bulk casually. Then, in one lightening strike she struck him—he stayed
on the ground for the next 30 minutes before he could be revived.
This is what Seema Rao’s average day looks like. She and her husband
Prof Dr Deepak Rao teach how to quickly terminate, handicap, cripple or immobilise the enemy, in the simplest possible way.
The ‘Dr Raos’ (as the couple likes to be called) have been training personnel from elite special forces like the
Para Commandos, Gorkhas, National Security Guards, Marine Commando Force and various infantry regiments free of charge for
the last 10 years in lethal close quarter fighting where the only objective is to kill.
Incorporating the ‘useful principles and foul tactics’ of
various martial arts, they have developed a modern version of unarmed combat—the Unarmed Combat Tactical System (ACCS)
which employs principles from Sun Tzu’s Art of War, Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do and soldiers Close Quarter Battle
tactics. Their ACCS training, given to special forces on request, involves full contact fighting in various ranges including
kicking, boxing, knee elbow range, trapping, grappling and groundwork including weaponry and mob fighting skills.
‘‘The trainee soldier is put through various situations where
he is made to face multiple opponents and fight with and against a variety of weapons. He is taught specialised techniques
of quick and silent termination. We train them to fight in all situations of fatigue, starvation, injury and even in darkness.
Our website www.commandocombat.com has all details,’’ says Deepak Rao. He adds that the commandos are trained
to swiftly and silently terminate the enemy in hostile terrain like high altitude areas with low oxygen concentration, underwater
during diving operations, dense shrubs of the jungle and in the scorching desert heat.
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Meet the Raos |
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Deepak Rao: Rao, 47, is a 7th degree Black Belt (China) and holds three
doctorates besides being a Honorary Professor of International University of Martial Science in the US. He is a practising doctor and has also written a book A comprehensive Analysis of World Terrorism. He has been
inducted into the International Combat Martial Arts Hall of Fame and is a certified scuba diver.
Seema Rao:
The 37-year-old is a 5th degree Black Belt (China) and has an MBA
in crisis management and a Phd in Martial Science from the US. Her
area of specialisation is grappling where she uses a blend of eastern Fillipino style and Ju Jutsi with Indian and Western
style wrestling. She is a Jeet Kune Do (JKD) instructor certified by the World JKD Federation. |
The Rao couple has black belts in Karate, Taekwondo, Gung Fu and are
crackshots with pistols and rifles. Their journey started when they were first encouraged to train police personnel by A.
V. Krishnan, Director General of Police, Maharashtra in 1995 and by Chief of Army staff, General Roy Chaudhary in 1997. ‘‘During
training, I have fractured my vertebrae and have suffered amnesia for months after a head injury. My husband has lost part
of his vision, torn his kidneys, suffered a slipped disc and has had multiple fractures,’’ says Seema Rao calmly.
What drives them on in spite of these injuries is their dedication to
military martial arts. ‘‘We continue to remain non-commercial and do not charge any professional fee despite going
bankrupt many times for the simple reason that we love our country. We never go abroad to train anyone as the experience we
have obtained remains in the country ’’ says Deepak Rao.
While the Raos do not teach ACCS to civilians, Bruce Lee’s Jeet
Kune Do (JKD) is taught at their Unarmed Commando Combat Academy (UCCA) in Mumbai. JKD requires physical, mental, philosophical
and spiritual dedication to fully master its combat applications. |
