HON. MAJOR DR. DEEPAK RAO

INDIAN FORCES PIONEER MODERN CLOSE QUARTER BATTLE FOR COMMANDO TRAINING & COUNTER TERROR OPS.
SPORTS MEDICINE PHYSICIAN. AUTHOR & MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER.

Email: uccamumbai@gmail.com

HON. SHRI NARENDRA MODIJI - "I deeply appreciate your efforts of selfless service for Defence forces of Nation"

DEFENCE SECY, MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, SHRI SUBHASH CHANDRA - "HE, the President of India has been pleased to grant you Honorary rank for your outstanding contribution in the field of Modern Close Quarter Battle Training for Counter Terror Ops to the Army with absolute dedication & commitment over 17 years"

HOME SECRETARY OF INDIA SHRI GK PILLAI 2009 & SHRI RAJIV GAUBA 2017 - "We place on record our appreciation for selfless professional service in combat training for Anti terror ops"

INDIAN ARMY CHIEF GEN MANOJ PANDE 2024 - "My Compliments for your unstinted and selfless support in helping improvement to AMAR"

INDIAN ARMY CHIEF 2019 - "The Chief is sanguine that your efforts to improve CT training will greatly benefit the uniformed fraternity"

GEN MANOJ MUKUND NARAVANE, AS ARMY CHIEF DESIGNATE 2019 - "The unconditional endeavor of your selfless service to training Armed Forces is immensely commendable"

Hon. Major Dr. Deepak Rao is regarded as the Indian Pioneer of modern Close quarter battle training (MoD citation).

In 1999, Kargil War, much of the battle ended up at close quarters. The Indian Army felt the need for modern high impact close-quarter battle training. Rao was then the foremost specialist in CQB. Various Indian forces used Rao's methodology to help in modernization of CQB for Counter Terror & Commando Operations. An expert Commando Trainer, he trained about 20,000 soldiers selflessly from every elite armed force for 25 years in Unarmed combat, CQB, Reflex shooting, QRT tactics, Commando Ops & Urban ops.

In 2008, following the Taj terror attack, Indian forces recognised the need for specialised Urban Counter Terror training. In 2009, Indian Home Ministry appointed Rao as an approved MHA Resource & directed him to train ATS squads of many Indian States. He also conducted a Urban Counter Terror training module for Superintendents of Police at SVP National Police Academy.

He founded the Rao method of Reflex shooting, which helps to reduce reaction time of shooting without protracted aiming. In 2006-2008 He was directed by the Army Commanders to run modernisation courses on CQB & Reflex shooting at Corps Battle Schools of Northern & Eastern Command. In 2012 He was directed by Army Chief Gen VK Singh to train a nucleus of Para Instructors who would impart training to other Infantry battalions.

In Nov 2011 he was pipped by the Indian Army Chief & made Brand Ambassador of the Indian Army TA along with celebrities MS Dhoni & Abhinav Bindra (Indianarmy citation).

Following the Galvan skirmish (2020), where Indian & Chinese troops engaged in hand to hand combat with many casualties, Rao advocated the need to develop our own indigenous method of unarmed combat. In 2024, he was directed by the Indian Army Chief to help Indian Army to review & improve their newly developed AMAR- Army Martial Arts Routine. His work was applauded by an Army Chief Citation. (Indianarmy citation) Following this he was labelled by Indian Media as architect of modern close combat (News 18).

He has varied education- Medicine from King Edward Memorial Hospital, Pharmacology from Harvard, Disaster Medicine from Stanford, Leadership & Management from Wharton Business School & Doctorates in Military Science & also in Law. He is a multifaceted personality being a Sports Physician, a Published Author on Political & Military Science, Psychologist, Pragmatic Philosopher and Motivational/TEDX speaker.

All his 3 decade work for the Indian forces has been selfless, in the interest of the soil, without any monetary compensation. At 60 years of age, he continues his work for training the armed forces of India.

His wife is Dr. Seema Rao (website), aka Wonder Woman of India. She is India's first & only woman commando trainer -representative of Indian women in combat. She received the esteemed Narishakti award- highest National award for women, from the President of India, for her work on reflex shooting & woman empowerment.

VIDEOS

Brand Ambassadors of Indian Army, Major Deepak Rao, M.S. Dhoni and Abhinav Bindra with Defence Minister

WORK FOR MILITARY

CQB training is the art of battle at 30 yards. In 1994 Rao started building awareness of need for modern CQB training. After the battle of Kargil, the demand for CQB training increased. Dr. Rao trained Army Special Forces, Paratroopers, Infantry, Commando Wing, NSG Black Cats, Indian Navy MARCOS, IAF Garuds, ITBP, CISF, BSF, ATS Units, Special Group (RAW) etc for nearly two decades, receiving 5 Army Chief Citations for his work from Gen Padmanabhan, Gen JJ Singh, Gen VK Singh, Gen Bipin Rawat & Gen Manoj Pande.
His contributions are (1) Pioneered Specialized CQB training called ACCS: Advanced Commando Combat System for Special Forces of Army, Navy, Air force & Paramilitary. (2) Invented popular Rao system of Reflex Shooting training Corps Battle Schools of Northern & Eastern Commands under directive of Army Commanders Gen Deepak Kapoor & Gen VK Singh. (3) Spread concept of LRTS: live round tactical simulation & conducted it for Commando Wing & joint training for SF. (4) Helped modern QRT training for state anti-terror squads. (5) Authored, produced and distributed 7 books on modern commando training, went into FBI & INTERPOL libraries. (6) Founded ABC: Army Battle Combatives, a sophisticated method of Commando Unarmed Combat. Helped improvement of AMAR (Army Martial Arts Routine) by adding specialized termination tactics from ABC. (7) Conducted innovations in Urban Counter terrorism & Room intervention for various SF. (8) Trained 10000 paramilitary & Policemen in modern methods of IED recognition including CISF. (9) Trained a group of Para Instructors for purpose of training other Para SFs in Reflex Shooting under directive of Army Chief Gen VK Singh. (10) Trained Special Group of RAW in various modules.

He has experience of 300 assignments, training 25,000 troops from elite forces/ SF/ Commandos across services, exposure to 100 firing ranges, 25 kill houses (room intervention), firing approzimately 2 lakh rounds, earning him about 500 commendation letters from dignitories including the President, Prime Minister, Home minister, Defence minister, Chief Ministers, Service Chiefs, DGPs & Commissioners of Police.

NATIONAL HONOR

He is 1 of only 6 Indians since Independence to be conferred the coveted Indian Army Rank honour by President of India. He was commissioned as a Hon. Major in the elite Parachute Regiment TABN of Indian Army, pipped by Gen VK Singh in Nov 2011 & made Brand Ambassador alongwith celebrities MS Dhoni & Abhinav Bindra.

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WORK FOR PARA MILITARY & POLICE

Impressed with his work for the Police forces all over India, Indian Home Ministry made him a resource for Govt of India(2009) & he trained 12 State & City Police Anti Terror Squads in modern methods.

He is often invited as Guest Lecturer to Army Officers Training Academy, Black Cat Academy, National Police Academy, Paramilitary Academies & Commando Wing. Major Rao trained Police Anti Terror Squads of Maharashtra, Pune, Goa, Kerala, Bangalore, Mumbai, Haryana, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Assam etc. After Taj terror attack, Major Rao was invited by National Police Academy for conducting Urban Counter Terrorism course for SPs all over India.

Major Rao has extensively trained Mumbai Police batches of Riot Control Police, Anti-Terror Squads & Special Protection Units. Major Rao has trained 10,000 Police personnel in Bomb Recognition

MILITARY UNARMED COMBAT

1. From 1994 Rao trained multiple units of various elite & special forces in modern Unarmed Combat during CQB training courses.
2. Rao authored a book on modern Unarmed combat ABC (Army Battle Combatives) in 2019 stressing that armed forces UAC training must focus on crippling, silencing and terminating techniques over and above basic martial art skills. Using his own money he produced and selflessly distributed 1000 copies to all Infantry Battalions as a tribute to Indian Army. The book was commended by the then Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat.
3. After the Galvan valley skirmish- India and China’s deadliest Clash at Sino Indian border with more than 20 Indian casualties, Rao wrote to the Indian Army Chief in 2020 about fhe need for developing our own indigineous UAC system.
4. In 2022 Indian Army developed our indigineous UAC method, AMAR (Army Martial Arts Routine) at AIPT, Army Institute of Physical Training. AMAR is unique, modern, state of the art, and innovative.
In 2023, under directive of Army Chief Gen Manoj Pandey, Maj Rao was sent to AIPT to evaluate AMAR wrt incorporation of Raos well researched ABC termination skills (Army Battle Combatives). In Apr 2024 The Army Chief directed Rao to visit AIPT for Improvement to AMAR by adding Rao's ABC terminations which could be incorporated into AMAR course curriculum. Following this, Rao received Army Chief citation (click here) for helping improvement of AMAR.
5. Till date Rao gets invitations from various special forces for improvising their Unarmed Combat training.

At 60 years of age, Rao continues contributing selflessly to Indian Armed Forces

PHYSICIAN

Dr. Deepak Rao is a qualified Medical Doctor with interest in Sports Medicine. He graduated from the prestigious King Edward Memorial Hospital. He has undertaken short course studies from Harvard, Stanford, Yale & Johns Hopkins universities. He is also a certified End of Life Care Specialist(palliative) and a fellow of the Royal Society of Health. He also has credentials in Sports Medicine CPD (Mayo), Exercise physiology and Disaster Medicine (Stanford), Diabetes (Royal College of General Practioners), Sports rehab and Cardiac rehabilitation (ICCPR & American College of Sports Medicine). Besides qualifications in medicine, he has a PhD in Military Sc(DSc), a PhD in Law (UK) and Leadership & Management certification from Wharton Business School. He has also completed the Nuclear Terrorism course from Stanford.

CREDENTIALS

Rao has a Doctorate in Military Sciences and is a Certified Law Enforcement Trainer from ASLET (American Society of Law Enforcement Training). He has qualified in Disaster Medicine of Stanfords SEMPER Program. Rao is a Combat Shooting Instructor, Combat Tactics Instructor, IED expert, a PADI certified SCUBA diver and a Disaster medicine physician.
He is a certified Instructor in Close Quarter Battle, VIP & Personal Protection from Prof. Leonard Holyfield, Ex Chief Combatives Instructor to United States Army who was instrumental in rewriting the US Army manual on Combatives (FM 21-150).

MARTIAL ARTS

Dr. Rao is a Master instructor in the art and philosophy of Jeet Kune Do, martial art founded by Bruce Lee. He studied JKD from Grandmaster Richard Bustillo, RIP, original student of legendary Bruce Lee for over a decade. Rao is a Grandmaster & 10th deg blackbelt in military martial arts graded by legendary O Sensei Philip Porter, RIP President of United States Martial Arts Association. He was graded 9th deg Blackbelt from Grandmaster Ric Black, Director General, USDTA United States Defensive Tactics Association. Rao is a certified Blackbelt member of Jiu Jitsu Global Federation with his blackbelt recognized by Grandmaster Rickson Gracie. He is an International MMA coach who coached Indian team for Young Blood Night Germany and International Federation of Full Contact Fighting Russia.

AUTHOR

He is a published Author of 10 books on Political science, Military Training, with some of his books gone to FBI, INTERPOL & Buckingham Palace. All his books were produced solely for Indian forces & 1000 copies of each gifted to Indian Home Ministry, Defence Ministry, Army HQ, State Police & ATS Units.

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MOTIVATIONAL KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Dr. Rao is one of India’s leading motivational & TEDx speakers on Oriental philosophy, zen & Military subjects. He has been a speaker at JK Yog International Youth Conference Texas, World Mental Health Congress, National Womans Commission besides multiple TEDx events. He has studied Religious literacy and Buddhist scriptures from Harvard university & trained in Warrior Tradition, Bushido Code & Samurai Culture in Kyoto & Tokyo. Dr. Rao has a Master Instructor certification in Bruce lee’s art and philosophy from GM Richard Bustillo RIP. He conducts seminars & workshops on Sun Tzu’s Art of War, Commando Ideology, Zen & Mindfulness, Potential of the Mind etc.
Dr. Rao has qualified in Leadership and Management studies from Wharton Business School. He conducts Team building exercises for corporate sector.

PSYCHOLOGY & MIND STUDIES

Dr. Rao is a specilaist in Mind Studies. Dr. Rao has studied Psychology, Psychotherapy & Freudian Psychoanalysis from Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, California. Dr. Rao is a member of American Psychological Association, International Society of Applied Psychoanalysis and a fellow of the Royal Society of Health. Rao has personally trained in Autosuggestion psychotherapy, under world acclaimed Dr. John Butler of HTI, UK. He is certified in CBT i.e. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy from Beck Institute USA & professionally trained in Hypnotism from HTI – Hypnotherapy Training International UK. He has authored a book on Potentials of the Mind called 'Mind Range' Hello. He is an advisor for World Mental Health Congress.

ZEN & MINDFULNESS

Dr Rao is a Zen Scholar. He has completed Studies in Religious Literacy and Buddhism via Scriptures from Harvard University. He has practiced Zazen meditation technique for 2 decades in Buddhist temples of Kyoto, Tokyo, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and attended Rhinzai Zen meditation sessions at the esteemed Ningen Zen HQ with Dokusans (personal sessions) with Head Abbot Marukan Syuntan who awarded him with 'Gasenshu compilation of Koans' Rao has authored a book on Zen, was invited to deliver TEDX talks on Zen, was Speaker on Zen at International religious conference in Texas & World Mental Health Congress on multiple occasions.

AWARDS

Nationally he has over 100 government felicitations from President, PM, CM, Service Chiefs etc. Internationally he has received appreciation from Robert Mueller then FBI Chief, Ronald Noble then INTERPOL Secretary general and Her Majesty, the Queen of England! He received World Peace Award from World Peace Congress in Malaysia. He received Global Health Leader award from World Mental Health Congress.

In recognition of his outstanding achievements Rao was conferred status of 'Fit India Champion' by the Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs in 2021 to motivate youth in Fit India Mission

TESTIMONIALS