Ellis Amdur went to Japan at the age of twenty-three. He lived there thirteen years, studying classical Japanese martial arts. He's now trained in such arts for fifty years. He is a recognized expert in classical and modern Japanese martial traditions, and has authored three iconoclastic books on this subject. Upon his return to America, he began working in the field of crisis intervention. He has authored eighteen profession-specific books in this area, some written with subject-matter-expert co-authors concerning tactical communication with seriously mentally ill individuals and verbal de-escalation of aggression. He has collaborated with authors Neal Stephenson, Mark Teppo, Charles Mann and artist Robert Sammelin in the graphic novel series, Cimarronin: A Samurai in New Spain.
