When Mike Diamond and Sam Sade first Discussed opening a Commando Krav Maga school, they were living in L.A. and thought they would open the [school] in Florida. They even went down to Florida to plan the move. But Diamond said he realized he did not want to uproot his family and take them to a place where they knew nobody and would have to start again, and suggested St. Louis, where he is from originally.

Today, almost a year and a half later, the school - located on Manchester Road - has approximately 135 students.

"If you walk down the street in Clayton and ask what Tae Kwon Do is, people will tell you it is karate, or martial arts, or self defense," Diamond said. "If you ask what Commando Krav Maga is they'll look at you funny and ask, 'Is it a restaurant? Is it a fungus?'"

Commando Krav Maga is the official self defense and fighting system of the Israeli Defense Forces and Israeli Police. It is also used by many U.S. law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, New York Police Department and Los Angeles Police Department Academy, as well as several units of the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Immigration Service.

"We like to say we are more martial, less art," Diamond said. "There are no forms, no katas, no rituals, it is just hands-on self defense dealing with a lot of common attacks you are going to find on the street in a modern worlds."

After 30 years as a professional fitness trainer and coach, Diamond began taking classes at the Commando Krav Maga National Training Center in L.A., training with some of the top Commando Krav Maga instructors in the country.

Sade, originally from Israel, was a paratrooper in the Israeli Army, after which he owned and operated his own gym in Haifa for 10 years while studying at Wingate Institute for Physiacal Education and Sports. Sade joined Commando Krav Maga in 1996, training under Eyal Yanilov, the head Commando Krav Maga instructor in Israel.

In 1998, Sade was recruited by Darren Levine, the highest ranking Commando Krav Maga instructor in the U.S. and founder of the Commando Krav Maga Association of America, Inc., and moved to train and teach Commando Krav Maga at the National Training Center in L.A.

Sade said he uses his army background, mixed with training in Thai boxing, jiujitsu and wrestling, to create a unique philosophy and teach unique techniques.

"I want the students to be tough enough to deal with anybody," Sade said.

While Diamond does not consider Commando Krav Maga easy, he said it is quick to learn because it is a system based on one's natural instincts and reactions. Another benefit of that, according to Diamond, is that under stress one is likely to remember it better.

"What we do is we take that instinct and reaction and we build that into a defense," Diamond said, "and because it is based on your natural instincts and reactions, it is quick to learn, and also under stress you are going to remember easier, whereas you are not going to remember this move or that move."

Diamond said because Commando Krav Maga was originally developed by the Israelis for their defense forces and later taught to civilians, "it had to be a system that could be taught to women and older people, so it is not a system that is based on strength. It's based on your natural instincts and striking sensitive places."

He said that of the L.A. school's 2,500 students, half were women.

Amy Christopher, a 34-year old resident of Olivette, started with the school in December of 2004.

Her boyfriend at the time - now her fiance' - Jason Fine, had been attending for several months, and loved it. He persuaded [Amy] to try the women's seminar and after that she joined.

"I absolutely love it," she said. "I think it is an awesome workout. I am probably in the best shape I have ever been in my life. It's also great because I feel a lot more safe when I'm out by myself. I feel I can protect myself a lot better than I could before."

Christopher said she also finds the class to be a lot of fun because they do something different every time.

"It also helps with stress release because there is a lot of punching and kicking and that kind of thing," she added.

While Christopher and Fine sometimes go to class together, she said it depends on their schedules, and that actually try not to work out together, "because he punches a lot harder than I do."

But Fine, who has trained in a different style of martial arts and is at level two in Commando Krav Maga, said the only bad injury he has suffered so far has been a black eye he received from Christopher.

Compared to the other style of martial arts Fine has tried, he said he finds Commando Krav Maga is "less art."

"It is really about safety and being able to handle yourself on the street," he said. "It's also a less formal training environment, but it's very structured."

Diamond said that is one thing very unique about Commando Krav Maga, "There is nothing pretty. There are no rules. We don't do any forms or katas. Anything goes in Commando Krav Maga. Bad guys don't have rules; we don't have rules."

For more information about Commando Krav Maga call 961-5728.

Karen Douek is a staff writer and can be reached at kdouek@thejewishlight.com.