About Stephen K. Hayes
“Hayes-san is the one who gave birth to ninjutsu in the USA. We should all thank him so much for what he has done for us.”
- Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi, Togakure Ryu Nin-po Soke, describes An-shu Stephen K. Hayes to participants at Tai-Kai New Jersey 1989
“A legend in the martial arts”
- Black Belt Magazine Yearbook 1998 describes An-shu Stephen K. Hayes
“One of the ten most influential living martial artists in the world”
- Black Belt Magazine March 2006 describes An-shu Stephen K. Hayes
“Grandmaster Stephen Hayes is a legend in the martial arts.”
- Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee, father of Taekwondo in America, describes An-shu Stephen K. Hayes to participants at National Association of Martial Arts Professionals convention 2008
An-shu Stephen K. Hayes has spent his entire adult life in the pursuit of perfection through the study of the Asian martial arts and spiritual traditions, living and traveling throughout North America, Japan, Europe, the Arctic, China, Tibet, Nepal, and India
He began his martial arts career in Ohio studying karate as a teenager in the 1960s
Awarded extremely rare honor of ju-dan 10th degree Black Belt by Bujinkan Dojo Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi of Chiba-ken, Japan, in 1993
Stephen K. Hayes, Rumiko Hayes, Masaaki Hatsumi in Japan 1983
Elected to the prestigious Black Belt Hall of Fame in 1985, and Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame in 2004, for his pioneering introduction of the Japanese ninja martial arts to the Western world
Stephen K. Hayes founded the martial art of To-Shin Do in 1997, 30 years after beginning formal training in the martial arts; he is known as An-shu, founder-director of the Kasumi-An
Featured in publications ranging from Black Belt to Playboy to Tricycle Buddhist Review
Featured in International Edition of Who’s Who
His 19 books have sold over 1 million copies - many volumes published in different languages around the world, translating the timeless knowledge of the East into pragmatic lessons for contemporary Western life
Ninja Vol 6 - “Secret Scrolls of the Warrior Sage” arrived Spring 2007 from Black Belt Books!
1971 graduate of Miami University of Oxford, Ohio, majoring in Theater
He used his professional acting skills in a broad variety of Japanese television and film projects - most notably alongside Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune in the NBC samurai epic Shogun
He has been featured in TV and film documentary projects with networks such as NBC, A&E, Discovery Channel, and Fuji TV
Stephen K. Hayes has demonstrated self-protection combat skills to military and law-enforcement groups including the U.S. Air Force Academy, the FBI Academy, the American Society for Law Enforcement Training, and members of Britain’s elite SAS
He has worked on special assignments with the United States Department of State Dignitary Security Services, and under contract with the United States Defense Intelligence Agency
In the 1990s, An-shu Stephen regularly served as personal security escort and advisor for his spiritual friend, 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dalai Lama of Tibet
Assisted Dalai Lama elder brother Thubten Jigme Norbu and family as Master of Ceremonies for Tibetan Cultural Center programs since 1996
Stephen K. Hayes is an ordained teacher of 1,200-year-old Japanese vajrayana meditation tradition - As spiritual head of the Kasumi-An Dojo, he offers instruction in both the meditation and martial arts traditions of Japan
Stephen K. Hayes taught as Adjunct Professor in the Masters of Business Management program of the McGregor School of Antioch University, and serves on the University of Dayton Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership Advisory Council
An-shu Stephen K. Hayes produces an inspiring and information-rich DVD Home Study Long Distance Learning program in his To-Shin Do martial arts and meditation systems - Check these out!
Chairman of the Board of SKH Quest, dedicated to promoting the benefits of martial arts training for self-development, he travels the world as teacher, seminar leader, and lecturer, inspiring others by translating his extensive background in martial arts and meditation into practical lessons for handling the pressures, uncertainties, and stresses of life. An-shu Stephen’s personal school - SKH Quest To-Shin Do Central Training Headquarters - is located in Dayton, Ohio.
Stephen K. Hayes has been married for 28 years to Rumiko Urata Hayes, who was born in Kumamoto, Japan, and graduated from Sophia University in Tokyo
An-shu Rumiko earned senior master ranking from Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi, teaches classes at the SKH Quest Dayton Center, and often travels with her husband as seminar leader at their network of SKH Quest To-Shin Do Affiliate Schools around the world
Rumiko and Stephen Hayes at Elton John’s Oscar party 2001
Stephen and Rumiko’s daughters Reina and Marissa grew up as active Black Belt participants in their parents’ dojo, and now follow their own dreams in the world just as their father and mother did
