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 is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

, and raised in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. He graduated from Fairmont West High School in

Kettering, Ohio Kettering is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. It is an inner suburb of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton. The city had a population of 57,862 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populous suburb in the Dayton metr ...

, in 1967. Hayes attended

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

in nearby

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

, because he "heard they had a

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, 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 Encyc ...

club". It turned out to be a Korean

Tang Soo Do Tang Soo Do (; ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean martial art based on karate which can include fighting principles from taekkyeon, subak, as well as northern Chinese martial arts. From its beginnings in 1944 to today, Tang Soo Do is used by ...

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

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree, having majored in speech and theatre.

Martial arts career

In the 1970s, Hayes traveled to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. In June 1975, he met and began training under Tsunehisa Tanemura. He later trained under Masaaki Hatsumi, who refers to himself as 34th Grandmaster of Togakure-ryū 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 Taij ...

(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 fo ...

, an art based in his experience of ''

budō is a Japanese language, Japanese term describing modern Japanese martial arts. It is commonly translated as "Martial Way", or the "Way of Martial Arts". Etymology is a compound of the root ( or ; ), meaning "war" or "martial"; and ( or ; ), ...

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 close combat either u ...

''. 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 , officially , was the title of the military aristocracy, rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor of Japan, Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, exc ...

'' and in 2004 was featured in the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

documentary '' Unsolved History'' regarding ninja and their practices.Unsolved History: Ninjas

Buddhism

Hayes is an ordained practitioner of esoteric

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...

Mikkyō 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 is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

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

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

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 (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

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 Tendai Buddhists American expatriates in Japan American male television actors 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 20th-century American Buddhists 21st-century American Buddhists