Ellis Amdur

Ellis Amdur balances two careers, that as a crisis intervention specialist, through his company, Edgework and as a 40+ year practitioner of traditional Japanese martial arts. His writing meets right in the middle. Through his company, Edgework Books, he has self-published ten books on the verbal de-escalation of aggression and calming of agitated mentally ill people, one each for those in the social services personnel, for hospitals, for families, for police officers, for parole/probation officers, for 911 call-takers, for security guards, correctional officers in a jail setting, for firefighters/EMS and for worksite safety (HR, threat assessment professionals, etc), some co-written. He has one final book pending in this series, for correctional officers in a prison setting (when he can find a suitable co-writer). He also has published a book entitled Shapeshifting: Scenario Training for Hostage Negotiation Teams, co-written with Fmr. Sgt. Lis Eddy. He has written and published three books on martial arts, the iconoclastic Dueling with Osensei: Old School, a work on classical martial traditions and most recently, Hidden in Plain Sight, on esoteric knowledge within various martial traditions. A new, extensively revised edition of Old School has just been released by Freelance Academy Press.Along with authors Neal Stephenson, Charles Mann & Mark Teppo and artists Robert Sammelin and Dean Kotz, Ellis has released the Jet City Comics graphic novel, the Cimmaronin.Finally, his first novel, The Girl with the Face of the Moon will be published in early 2015.His books are considered unique in that he uses his own experiences, often hair-raising or outrageous, as illustrations of the principles about which he writes, but it is also backed by solid research, and boots-on-the-ground experience.