"My goal is to empower people. I want others to realize that they can have the inner courage and physical strength to defend themselves. It shouldn't take a tragic episode to want to learn some basic self-defense moves. My hope is that I can teach individuals these concepts."

Michael Tom was born in the 1950's and was raised in downtown Los Angeles. As an "inner city kid" he had to learn how to defend himself at a very early age. When he was eighteen years old began his formal training in Chinese Kung Fu. His instructors were Sifu Carl Totton and Sifu Douglas Wong and during this time they were developing a Kung Fu program, which later expanded to be one of the most successful schools in the Los Angeles area.

In Chinese martial arts there are no color belt rankings like most of the other Asian martial arts. Michael received his Kung Fu teaching credentials in 1975 and is recognized as one of the original members of Sifu Totten and Sifu Wong's Kung Fu association.

For the last twenty-five years Michael Tom has been teaching self-defense techniques derived from Kung Fu. His student base started with his friends and as time went on and word spread of Michael's teaching ability his clientele rapidly grew to include many people living in the Ventura County area.

"The concept is simple, it's not how much you know, but what you know and how to use it."

As Michael's student base grew many of them urged him to develop his program to attract a larger audience. Although this was an attractive idea, his mission was to show the everyday person how to defend himself against an attack and this is how "Surviving Chance" was originated.