Stephen K. Hayes (born September 9, 1949) is an American martial artist and writer.

Early life

Stephen K. Hayes was born in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, and raised in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

. He graduated from Fairmont West High School in Kettering, Ohio, in 1967. Hayes attended

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

in nearby

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

, because he "heard they had a

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

club". It turned out to be a Korean

Tang Soo Do Tang Soo Do (Hangul: 당수도, Hanja: 唐手道 ) refers to a Korean martial art based on Karate and may include fighting principles from subak (as described in the Kwon Bup Chong Do), as well as northern Chinese martial arts. Before the ...

school, not judo, but Hayes remained. In 1971, he graduated from Miami with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree, having majored in speech and theatre.

Martial arts career

In the 1970s, Hayes traveled to Japan. In June 1975, he met and began training under Tsunehisa Tanemura. He later trained under

Masaaki Hatsumi , formerly Yoshiaki Hatsumi, is the founder of the Bujinkan Organization and is the former Togakure-ryū soke ( grandmaster). He no longer teaches, but currently resides in Noda, Chiba, Japan. Early life Masaaki Hatsumi was born in Noda, Chi ...

, who refers to himself as 34th Grandmaster of

Togakure-ryū is a historical tradition of ''ninjutsu'' known as the "School of the Hidden Door", allegedly founded during the Oho period (1161–1162) by ( ), who learned his original fighting techniques from a Chinese monk named Kain Dōshi. However, the h ...

ninjutsu and is the founder of the

Bujinkan The is an international martial arts organization based in Japan and headed by Masaaki Hatsumi. The combat system taught by this organization comprises nine separate ryūha, or schools, which are collectively referred to as ''Bujinkan Budō Ta ...

(武神館) organization. Hayes returned to the United States with his wife, Rumiko, in late 1980 when his Japan residency visa expired, and began teaching and authoring numerous books and magazine articles.About Bud Malmstrom
There is some evidence that he visited and taught in the United States on ninjutsu as early as 1976. In 1985, he was entered into the '' Black Belt'' magazine's Hall of Fame as Instructor of the Year. He was again featured on the cover of ''Black Belt'' in the March 2007 issue. The magazine's opening editorial described him as "one of the 10 most influential living martial artists in the world". In 1993, Hayes was awarded the ''judan'' (tenth-degree black belt) in Togakure-ryū ninjutsu from Hatsumi. In 1997, he founded the martial art of

To-Shin Do To-Shin Do is a martial art founded by Black Belt Hall of Fame instructor Stephen K. Hayes in 1997. It is a modernized version of ninjutsu, and differs from the traditional form taught by Masaaki Hatsumi’s Bujinkan organization. Instruction f ...

, an art based in his experience of ''

budō is a Japanese term describing modern Japanese martial arts. Literally translated it means the "Martial Way", and may be thought of as the "Way of War" or the "Way of Martial Arts". Etymology Budō is a compound of the root ''bu'' ( 武:ぶ), ...

taijutsu is a Japanese martial art blanket term for any combat skill, technique or system of martial art using body movements that are described as an empty-hand combat skill or system. Taijutsu is a synonym for Jujutsu (method of unarmed or with minor ...

''. In 2006, Hayes's name was removed from the display of active Bujinkan teachers, ending his official role within that organization. That his name plank was removed from the Bujinkan Honbu wall has been documented by both parties. However, the specifics regarding the motivation for the removal are in dispute. Some suggest Hayes was expelled from the organization. Hayes explains that he simply no longer participates as an active Bujinkan instructor. To-Shin Do is taught through his SKH (Stephen K. Hayes) Quest locations. The SKH Quest network now spans 31 schools across North America, Europe, Australia and Africa.Licensed Instructors
SKH Quest Hayes acted in the 1980 television miniseries '' Shogun'' and in 2004 was featured in the Discovery Channel documentary '' Unsolved History'' regarding ninja and their practices.Unsolved History: Ninjas
Discovery Channel

Buddhism

Hayes is an ordained practitioner of esoteric

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese m ...

Mikkyō is a Japanese term for the Vajrayana practices of Shingon Buddhism and the related practices that make up part of the Tendai and Kegon schools. There are also Shingon and Tendai influenced practices of Shugendō. Mikkyō is a "lineage traditio ...

Buddhism.Blue Lotus Assembly
He apprenticed under Dr. Clark Jikai Choffy, an ordained Tendai priest and personal disciple of Jion Haba, the bishop of Tokyo's Reisho-in temple.
He received empowerments and teachings from Choffy, received transmission in the Homan Ryu school of Tendai esoteric Buddhism, and in 1991 he received Tokudo priesthood ordination in Tendai Buddhism. Hayes has founded a Buddhist Order based on his teachings and experiences with

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

and Tendai, called the Blue Lotus Assembly. While traveling through Tibet, Hayes met the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...

in 1987. During a conference in the United States when the

learned that he had received the 1989

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

Hayes assisted with the unexpected security concerns as reporters arrived. For many years in the 1990s, Hayes served as the Dalai Lama's personal protection escort and security adviser, especially during visits to the United States.

Personal life

Hayes resides and works in

. He and his wife, Rumiko Hayes, have two daughters, Reina and Marissa.

Books

Non-fiction *''Ninja: Spirit of the Shadow Warrior'' (1980), Ohara Publications *''The Ninja and Their Secret Fighting Art'' (1981), Charles E. Tuttle Co. *''Ninja vol. 2: Warrior Ways of Enlightenment'' (1981), Ohara Publications *''Ninja vol. 3: Warrior Path of Togakure'' (1983), Ohara Publications *''Ninjutsu: The Art of the Invisible Warrior'' (1984) Contemporary Books *''Wisdom from the Ninja Village of the Cold Moon'' (1984) Contemporary Books *''Ninja vol. 4: Legacy of the Night Warrior'' (1985), Ohara Publications *''The Mystic Arts of the Ninja: Hypnotism, Invisibility, and Weaponry'' (1985), Contemporary Books *''Ninja Realms of Power: Spiritual Roots and Traditions of the Shadow Warrior'' (1986) *''The Ancient Art of Ninja Warfare: Combat, Espionage, and Traditions'' (1988), Contemporary Books *''Ninja vol. 5: Lore of the Shinobi Warrior'' (1989), Ohara Publications *''Enlightened Self-Protection: The Kasumi-An Ninja Art Tradition: An Original Workbook'' (1992), Nine Gates Press *''Action Meditation: The Japanese Diamond and Lotus Tradition'' (1993), Nine Gates Press *''The Ninja Defense: A Modern Master's Approach to Universal Dangers'' (2012), Tuttle Publishing *''The Complete Ninja Collection'' (2013), Black Belt Communications Fiction *''Tulku, a Tale of Modern Ninja'' (1985) Contemporary Books

Filmography

*''Ninja Vengeance'' (1988), Himself (as Ninjutsu Instructor)

References

External links

* , his official website *
Stephen K. Hayes , SKH Quest Center for Martial Arts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Stephen K. 1949 births 20th-century American novelists American Buddhists American expatriates in Japan American male television actors American martial arts writers American male novelists American ninjutsu practitioners Living people Male actors from Ohio Male actors from Wilmington, Delaware Martial arts school founders Miami University alumni Sportspeople from Dayton, Ohio Sportspeople from Wilmington, Delaware Novelists from Ohio Writers from Wilmington, Delaware 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers