Keith D. Yates started training in 1965 and became one of the youngest black belts in the country when he earned his rank at 17. He established a reputation as one of the top kata champions in the Southwest and won the Texas State title in 1971. A prolific writer and respected teacher, he holds the 10th dan in American Tae Kwon Do. He began the first college "karate for credit" program in the Southwest in 1972 at Southern Methodist University. He was an adjunct professor at SMU for seven years in both the Physical Education and Communications Departments. In 1976 he founded the American Karate And Tae Kwon Do Organization. He is in too many halls of fame and other honors to mention. He has produced video documentaries on martial arts history and has his own YouTube channel as well as a smartphone app covering the training patterns for American Tae Kwon Do. Dr. Yates has been featured in multiple publications, in newspapers, and has been profiled on many news and cable TV programs and national radio talk shows. He graduated from SMU in 1971 with a degree in Graphic Design and did his Master's thesis at Dallas Theological Seminary on "The Demystification of Ki.” He received a Doctorate of Humanities in 2019 from the Great Plains Baptist Divinity School with an emphasis on Biblical martial arts and sciences. Dr. Yates is the Chairman of the Board of the Gospel Martial Arts Union. He served for several years on the advisory board of Chuck Norris’s KickStart Kids and is also High-Dan Board Chairman of the American Karate Black Belt Association. In 2017 he retired from a career as Director of Creative Services and professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. Keith and his wife Linda have four grown children and ten grandchildren.