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. He was born in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1949, and grew up in Dayton, Ohio. He has lived and traveled throughout North America, Japan, Europe, the Arctic, China, Tibet, Nepal, and India. A husband and father of two daughters, he is a writer, teacher, and ardent student of life. Stephen K. Hayes began his martial arts career in Ohio as a teenager in the 1960s. In 1985, he was elected to the prestigious Black Belt Hall of Fame, for his years of pioneering work introducing the Japanese ninja martial arts to the Western world.
In 1993, Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi of Chiba-ken, Japan, awarded him the extremely rare honor of ju-dan 10th degree Black Belt in the nine historical traditions of the Bujinkan Dojo martial arts: Author of 20 books; Ambassador of Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu in the West;University adjunct professor; Apprentice in the home of the grandmaster of the ninja in Japan; Bodyguard for Nobel Peace Prize laureate the Dalai Lama of Tibet; Referred to by Black Belt Magazine as "One of the 10 most influential martial artists alive in the world today." Joe Niehaus earned an A.S. in Police Science and a B.S. in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati. He earned a Masters degree in Criminal Justice: Homeland Security from Tiffin University. He spent 36 years in the law enforcement field retiring as a Lieutenant with the Kettering Police Department in Ohio, where he created the Defensive Tactics Program and developed one of the first Integrated Use of Force training programs in the United States.
He has instructed police defensive tactics not only for Kettering but at regional and national police conferences, a martial arts practitioner and personal student of Stephen K. Hayes and holds an instructor license in To Shin Do. He has been published in magazines such as Law and Order, Police Marksman, Police Magazine, The Law Enforcement Trainer, Close Quarter Combat, The Ohio Police Chief, Black Belt Magazine, Spirit of the Ninja and Fighting Stars. His articles also appeared in The Best of Police Marksman Volume II. He has authored seven books including Investigative Forensic Hypnosis and The Sixth Sense: Practical Tips for Everyday Safety. He currently is an adjunct professor for Ashford University, American Pubic University System (APUS), Tiffin University and Sinclair Community College.