David Barrs

David first started his martial arts training as a teenager studying Hapkido. Years later while serving in the U.S. army he went to a local Kick Boxing gym and was hooked on the intense training and competitiveness of the sport. Having fought several years as an amateur kick boxer, David's interest then shifted to reality reality based self defense training more applicable for street self defense. A gym opened in St. Louis that taught what he was looking for. After training two years in traditional Israeli Krav Maga, David was introduced to a more advanced system called Combat Survival Commando Krav Maga, founded by Moni Aizik, a former member of Israeli Special Forces. David saw the effectiveness and practicality of this system and became a certified instructor so he can pass this knowledge on to others. He is currently teaching at

St. Louis Self Defense and Fitness in St. Louis Missouri.

 

Chris Riedel

Chris was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio and move to St. Louis MO ten years ago, After trying several types of martial arts systems he was introduce to Krav Maga by a friend. He found the practical aspects of the system exciting and refreshing compared to other styles. As he progressed within the system he found that he enjoyed the pass of knowledge gained (teaching) to others. Chris decided to pursue an instructor guiding within Commando Krav Maga to better help others in achieving more confidence and the ability to protract themselves.

Chris also enjoys many other activities, several of the more physical  include bike riding, running; hiking. He also volunteers with several community music programs and  assists the brass sections at a couple of High Schools.

Along with the above Chris  takes many of the photos for his high school and is responsible for many of its social gatherings.

Background:

While in college I began taking taekwondo both for the exercise and for the purpose of self defense. I quickly discovered it was what I'd been designed for and have since gotten my black belt and taken part in several competitions. However, during the course of my training I realized that there were some things TKD just didn't have a good answer for. I love it but it is very much an on your feet striking art. So armed with the little bits of information I had about Krav Maga when I got the opportunity to learn some of it I couldn't resist. What I discovered was that it had an answer for everything TKD didn't. Since then my friends and instructors in TKD asked about bringing CKM into our school and once again I couldn't resist. I now make teaching CKM my full time job and am really grateful for the opportunity to bring it to the Cape Girardeau area.

Achievements:

Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do

MSTO Gold Medalist
AAU Regional Gold Medalist

Multiple time AAU National competitor

Bachelors Degree in political Science from Southern Illinois University (Go Dawgs!)

Personal Quote:

God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. 2 Samuel 22:33