Marital Arts

When the petite Dr Seema Rao was confronted by a towering 95 kg man last fortnight, she was unperturbed. Constantly frustrating his efforts ...

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 him8212;he stayed on the ground for the next 30 minutes before he could be revived.

This is what Seema Rao8217;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 8216;Dr Raos8217; 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 8216;useful principles and foul tactics8217; of various martial arts, they have developed a modern version of unarmed combat8212;the Unarmed Combat Tactical System ACCS which employs principles from Sun Tzu8217;s Art of War, Bruce Lee8217;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.

8216;8216;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 http://www.commandocombat.com has all details,8217;8217; 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.

Meet the Raos

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. 8216;8216;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,8217;8217; says Seema Rao calmly.

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What drives them on in spite of these injuries is their dedication to military martial arts. 8216;8216;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 8217;8217; says Deepak Rao.

While the Raos do not teach ACCS to civilians, Bruce Lee8217;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.