Marty Hayes was the founder of The Firearms Academy of Seattle, Inc. After spending years as a police officer, competitive shooter and police firearms instructor, he started sharing his knowledge of firearms and self-defense related issues on a professional basis, and in 1990 started the Firearms Academy of Seattle, Inc. For over three decades, he taught firearms and self-defense to the Seattle/Portland area population, with thousands of satisfied students.
Marty's credentials to teach firearms, self-defense, and use of force include certification through the Washington State Criminal Justice Commission as a police firearms instructor, certification through Monadnock PR-24 Training Council as a PR-24 and defensive tactics instructor, certification through National Law Enforcement Training Center as a weapons retention, knife/counter knife, pepper spray and handcuffing instructor, Taser instructor certification, along with multiple certifications from the Lethal Force Institute. He was a staff instructor for the Massad Ayoob Group and was an adjunct instructor for Defense Training International.
He has presented and taught for The American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers, the Washington State Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association and the International Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association. He also occasionally worked as an expert witness/consultant in firearms, deadly force and police use of force cases, and holds a law degree.
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The Champion: Remembering Marty Hayes
Kat Ainsworth Stevens - The Shooting Wire 10/8/2025
https://www.shootingwire.com/features/06a9dd12-e1d8-46e2-b192-4f2c4918993c
R.I.P. Marty Hayes
Massad Ayoob - Backwoods Home 10/8/2025
https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/r-i-p-marty-hayes/
Marty Hayes Obituary
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/cdapress/name/marty-hayes-obituary?id=59819865
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Marty Hayes' Videos on PDN:
https://www.personaldefensenetwork.com/author/MartyHayes
Marty Hayes' Articles on Gun Digest
https://gundigest.com/author/marty-hayes-jd
Marty Hayes' Videos on Armed Citizens' TV
https://armedcitizenstv.org/presenters/marty-hayes
Rob Pincus - Interview with Marty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHRa3IYXGFQ