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A Life in Combat Boots

By KEDAR DHUME on April 25, 2017

India's first and only Woman Commando Trainer and a daughter of Goa, Dr Seema Sinari Rao is a selfless fighter. she is a 7th degree black belt in military martial arts, has double doctorate - a master in medicine, a PhD from Indiana University, USA - and has an MBA in crises management. Yet she chose a path less trodden by training thousands of soldiers in the defence & police forces without compensation as a selfless service to the nation

Her calm exterior belies a powerhouse within, her almost meditative mind tuned acutely to the slightest of movements. There is an almost spiritual sense to her passion. Nothing prepares you for the deep connect with her entire being – body and soul – that has made Dr Seema Sinari Rao just who she is today.

India’s first woman commando trainer, now based in Mumbai, tore through barriers of gender, class, and attitude to revolutionise the way the country’s forces defend our borders. Together with her husband Dr Deepak Rao, an equally qualified commando instructor, she has ploughed through every struggle imaginable to attain what seemed impossible.

Perhaps the genes of her freedom fighter father Prof Ramakant Sinari runs through her blood, but unaware of her potential in combat, she started on a career trajectory in medicine where she met her future husband. They are both qualified doctors and over the years have collected enough qualifications and combat-related skills between them to be their own army.

Dr Seema Rao also has an MBA in crisis management and a PhD in disaster management, and together with her husband perfected skills in a number of martial arts techniques. She is a 7th degree blackbelt in military martial arts, and the couple are one of the very few instructors in the world authorised to teach Bruce Lee’s art of Jeet Kune Do by the legendary fighter’s disciple Richard Bustillo.

Read the full article in 'Viva Goa' magazine copy.
Viva Goa magazine is now on stands. Available at all major book stalls and supermarkets in Goa.