Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephen Hayes.
Hi Stephen, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
“A legend. One of the ten most influential living martial artists in the world”
– Black Belt Magazine
Stephen K. Hayes spent his adult life in pursuit of perfection through the Asian martial arts and spiritual traditions. He traveled throughout Japan, Tibet, Nepal, and India seeking the best teachers. A husband, father of 2 daughters, and grandfather of 5, he is a writer, teacher, and student of life.
He was elected to the prestigious Black Belt Hall of Fame for his pioneering work teaching the legendary Japanese ninja martial arts he studied in Japan in the 1970s and 1980s. He was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Honors, and received the Martial Arts Industry Association Lifetime Achievement Award.
He is the author of 22 books translating the timeless knowledge of the East into pragmatic lessons for contemporary Western life. His books have sold well over a million copies
1971 graduate of Miami University of Oxford, Ohio, Stephen K. Hayes majored in theater. He later returned to Miami University for post-graduate study of comparative religions.
During his years in Japan, he appeared in television and film projects. American audiences might remember his role alongside Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune in the NBC samurai epic Shogun.
Stephen K. Hayes taught effective self-protection skills to military and law-enforcement groups including the U.S. Air Force Academy, FBI Academy, and members of Britain’s elite SAS.
In 1991, Stephen K. Hayes took ordination as a teacher of the esoteric meditation tradition.
In the early 1990s, he was part of Project Stargate, a top secret United States defense initiative where he used his psychic remote viewing skills to decipher distant enemy locations.
He regularly served as personal protection escort and security advisor for the Dalai Lama of Tibet, during the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s North American travels in the 1990s and 2000s.
For over 30 years Stephen K. Hayes has sought out the secrets of the ancient Tibetan practice of Vajrakilaya, whereby we recognize and activate the inner heroic persona of the “thunderbolt dagger of invincibility” as a way of compassionately aiding others in a troubled world.
Stephen and Rumiko, his wife from Kumamoto, Japan, now inspire students as co-leaders of To-Shin Do, their modern take on the historical Japanese traditions. Their presentations encourage others by translating their extensive backgrounds in martial and meditation arts into practical lessons for handling the pressures, uncertainties, and stresses of life.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Back in the 1980s, I sort of “exploded” onto the martial arts world. I was the only American to have studied the ninja martial art, and all magazines covered my story non-stop. That made more conventional martial artists angry, jealous, resentful. I had to prove my art to attract followers.
In the 2000s, MMA and Brazilian jujutsu dominated the martial arts world for a new generation. Young practitioners adopted the “who’s the meanest, cruelest, baddest guy on the mat?” mindset, while my martial art still projected a “not a predator, but a protector” vide. Were we out of step with 2025 culture?
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am strongly known for blending two areas of study into a single practice.
For 50 years, I have been a leading voice in promotion of a very practical self-defense art with roots in ancient Japanese history. The ninja martial art is based on a technology aimed at restoring peace.
At the same time, I have studied Japanese and Tibetan spiritual teachings for 40 years. I bring a focus on how life is working, and how we might elevate our living processes, better understanding where conflict and confrontation come from.
My To-Shin Do martial art presents both sets of lessons in very down-to-earth practices geared for Americans in 2025.
What’s next?
I will continue to write books and conduct seminars in my martial-spiritual To-Shin Do, more and more adapting my teaching to the advancing ages.
USA culture is very confused now (I believe), and I will offer solutions that focus on people better understanding their deeper selves and motivations seeking happiness.
Contact Info:
- Website: StephenKHayes.com | ToShinDo.Online | BlueLotusAssembly.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anshustephenkhayes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnShuStephenKHayes/
