Tom Slaven was born in Haddington, Scotland, and began his Martial Arts studies in 1956 with amateur wrestling, representing Scotland against England, Ireland, Wales and India. After moving to Australia at the age of 21, he achieved the rank of 2nd Dan in Nippon Kempo and, later, Black Belt rankings in Kyokushin Karate and Tae Kwon Do, with additional studies in Judo, Thai Boxing and Ying-Ye Kung Fu.

Apart from the Martial Arts, during the 1970s Tom Slaven established one of Australia’s most successful security companies, Prospect Security Services, in western Sydney. He provided body-guard services for many political, corporate and show-business celebrities (including Gough Whitlam, Linda Rondstadt, and Fleetwood Mac). Tom was responsible for security on the construction of the New Parliament House in Canberra and, subsequently, personal protection services for members of the British Royal Family.

It was from an amalgam of this formal Martial Arts training, together with real-life combat experiences within the security industry, that in 1978 Tom formulated and founded Zen Chi Ryu. His rejection of many of Karate’s traditional forms and practices, in favour of street-effective techniques taught in full-contact sparring, earned him ongoing criticism from some Martial Arts purists, but admiration and respect from many of his contemporaries.