THE NAVY SEAL HAND TO HAND COMBATIVES (RAPID ASSAULT TACTICS)
The Official Hand to Hand Combat System Developed for the U.S. Navy SEALs as developed by Sifu Paul Vunak
Rapid Assault Tactics (RAT), also known as Navy SEAL Hand to Hand Combative, was developed by American instructor Paul Vunak in the 1980s at the request of the U.S. Navy, specifically for SEAL Team 6 as their primary combative program. The system is built on the foundation of Jeet Kune Do, the martial art created by Bruce Lee.
The RAT was designed for the moment an operator finds themselves without a firearm or blade, possibly wounded, ambushed, or outnumbered, with violence escalating toward life and death stakes. That same chaos is what a person on the street faces in a sudden, unexpected attack, which is why this system translates so directly from the battlefield to civilian self defense.
What sets the RAT apart from other martial arts is the Straight Blast. It disrupts an opponent's base and balance, allowing a smaller person to dismantle a larger opponent, and opens the door to fast, catastrophic finishing tools: headbutts, knees, elbows, and Kina Mutai (biting, eye attacks, and finger destructions) to neutralize a threat.
The RAT is not a set of choreographed techniques or predictable drills. It's a framework for reading and responding to the phase of an attack in real time, which is what makes it effective against unpredictable, real world violence rather than staged scenarios.
The RAT is built on three core principles:
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Entry. Bruce Lee recognized that intercepting an attack, striking eyes, throat, or groin at the opponent's moment of commitment, was more effective than trading blows. Paul Vunak added destructions from Filipino Kali, striking nerve points and limbs to disrupt an opponent before they can fully launch their attack.
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Pressure. Most martial arts rely on a stable base to generate power. Bruce Lee discovered that driving forward, forcing an opponent's weight onto their heels, destroys that stability. This is the Straight Blast, adapted from Wing Chun's Jik Chun Choy and refined by Bruce Lee into something far more efficient for Jeet Kune Do.
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Termination. The longer an engagement lasts, the worse the odds become. RAT is built around ending the fight fast through HKE (headbutts, knees, elbows) applied at high, medium, and low levels, causing rapid mechanical damage and psychological disorganization so you can safely disengage.
Trained Across Military, Law Enforcement, and Protective Communities
Sifu Jeramiah has trained team members from the United States Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, Navy SERE instructors, Marine Corps Reconnaissance, and Navy Corpsman who served alongside elite special operations units. This training extends to law enforcement, bodyguards, bouncers, security professionals, movie stunt actors, and civilians who want the same tools that have been trusted by the most demanding professions in the world.
RAT isn't a theory. It's a framework for surviving the worst case scenario, built by operators, refined for the street, and taught to anyone serious about their own protection.
