Grand Master Bishop Preston Baker

Founder Emeritus · Judan, 10th Degree

Grand Master Preston Baker is a founding architect of Baker’s Dojo and the United Martial Arts Association. His record joins more than five decades of instruction with national competition, black-belt development, tournament leadership and institutional service.

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Early Training & Instruction

He began formal karate study in September 1965, earned Shodan in 1968 and then taught at the Sears YMCA on Chicago’s West Side. His official Baker’s Dojo biography records a long teaching career that produced generations of competitors, instructors and future leaders.

Teaching Legacy

The official biography records that Preston and his brothers instructed more than 30,000 students and directed or promoted more than 86 amateur tournaments. It further records 286 Black Belts directly under Preston’s instruction, including 20 students ranked in the Great Lakes Top 20 and 8 ranked nationally.

Competition Record

His official career record includes three A.K.A. Nationals runner-up finishes during the 1970–1973 period, captaincy of the Chicago team against New York, and #1 Great Lakes fighter recognition in 1974–1975. The organizational record also preserves his National Karate League and HuBaMe-era professional competition, including the 1975 Manny Chausarn TKO claim.

Baker’s Dojo, Windy City Pros & U.M.A.A.

Preston joined Otis and Eddie in establishing Baker’s Dojo in 1974 at 1300 South Michigan Avenue. In 1976, the Baker record connects Preston and Otis with the Windy City Pros and the formation of U.M.A.A., extending the family’s teaching work into association leadership, rank recognition and cross-style service.

Awards & Recognition

His official biography records more than 500 competitive awards along with Instructor-of-the-Year and Midwest Karateka of the Year recognition, Tournament of Champions activity, and later Wisconsin Classic and Chicago Metro service. Preston and Otis are listed among the 2005 Illinois Martial Arts Hall of Fame inductees in the Baker lineage record.

Rank, Retirement & Continuing Lineage

The official record places his retirement from open competition on November 4, 1979 and preserves later Rokudan and Shichidan progression on the path to Grand Master rank. He remains recognized as Founder Emeritus, with his lineage continuing through the instructors, Black Belts and schools produced from the Baker tradition.