Grand Master Keith D. Yates

Martial Arts Educator, Author, 10th Degree Black Belt, and Martial Arts Professional Columnist

Grand Master Keith D. Yates is an American martial arts educator, author, and organizational leader whose training began in 1965. He earned his first Black Belt in 1968, at age seventeen, under Texas karate pioneer Allen R. Steen. His career spans competition, instructor development, university teaching, martial arts journalism, and the preservation of American karate and taekwondo history.

Martial Arts Lineage and Rank

Yates’s principal teaching lineage runs from Grand Master Jhoon Rhee through Grand Master Allen Steen to Yates. Steen was Rhee’s first Black Belt on American soil and a formative influence on the development of Texas karate. Yates also trained with Jhoon Rhee, Skipper Mullins, and J. Pat Burleson, connecting his education directly to several influential figures in early American martial arts.

In 2001, Allen Steen promoted Yates to 10th Degree Black Belt. The American Karate Black Belt Association identifies him as only the fourth person Steen promoted to that rank. Yates also earned Black Belts in Japanese jujitsu and Okinawan kobudo, broadening his background beyond Korean karate and taekwondo to include grappling and traditional weapons.

Competition, Teaching, and Instructor Development

During his competitive career, Yates became known as a leading kata practitioner in the Southwest, winning the Texas State Championships in 1971. His subsequent work emphasized teaching, technical understanding, and the development of instructors. He was also among the first nationally certified instructors of the American Council on Martial Arts through its association with the Cooper Institute.

In the early 1970s, Yates established a martial arts course for academic credit at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He served as an adjunct professor in SMU’s Physical Education and Communications departments, bringing martial arts instruction into a university setting.

His community teaching included decades of service through North Texas YMCA programs. He began as a brown-belt assistant instructor at the Town North YMCA in 1967 and became the martial arts instructor at the Richardson YMCA in 1982. That location celebrated his retirement from regular classes in April 2024.

Organizational Leadership and Public Service

In 1976, Yates founded the Southwest TaeKwonDo Association, which developed into the American Karate and Tae Kwon Do Organization, or AKATO. The organization celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in March 2026.

Yates is also Chairman Emeritus of the American Karate Black Belt Association, having retired as board chairman in 2024. His contributions included designing the association’s emblems and creating an Allen Steen Black Belt lineage chart published in Black Belt magazine as “The House that Steen Built.”

In 1995, he served as head coach of the U.S. children’s taekwondo demonstration team that performed on the National Mall during the dedication of the Korean War Memorial. He also served for years on the board of Chuck Norris’s KickStart program.

Awards and Hall of Fame Recognition

Yates’s documented honors include:

• Texas State Championships winner, 1971.
• Texas Martial Arts Hall of Fame: a member of its inaugural induction class in the late 1990s.
• Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame, 2015.
• Martial Arts Legends Hall of Fame, 2019.
• Official Taekwondo Hall of Fame, 2022.

These recognitions reflect contributions across competition, teaching, leadership, and martial arts history.

Author, Editor, and Martial Arts Historian

Yates has written hundreds of martial arts articles and authored or coauthored numerous books. His publishing career includes monthly columns for Inside Karate, Kick Illustrated, and Martial Arts Professional, as well as service as managing editor of Official Karate Magazine. In 1991, he produced the documentary A History of Korean Karate in America.

His books include The Complete Book of Taekwon Do Forms, The Complete Guide to American Karate and Tae Kwon Do, Taekwondo Basics, Taekwondo for Kids, and Martial Arts and Christianity. His writing addresses technical instruction, martial arts traditions, education, and the relationship between training and personal values.

Education and Creative Career

Yates studied fine arts at Southern Methodist University and earned a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies, graduating summa cum laude from Dallas Theological Seminary. His master’s thesis examined the spiritual aspects of martial arts. Alongside his martial arts career, he spent decades in graphic design, publications, and creative services at the seminary, where he also taught as an adjunct professor. His publication work contributed to recognition from professional communications and religious publishing organizations.

His Contribution to Martial Arts Professional

As a Martial Arts Professional columnist, Yates brings extensive teaching experience to questions of conditioning, flexibility, student health screening, exercise selection, and injury prevention. His “Fitness Track” articles encourage instructors to examine established training practices and make informed decisions about the needs of their students. His background as an educator, author, and senior martial artist provides valuable context for school owners seeking to improve the quality of instruction.

Related: Allen Steen, 1940–2025 · Jhoon Rhee, 1932–2018 · All columnists