The story.

The Greatness.

Kameren Ali was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Grandmaster Gerald "Awesome" Dawson. His father was a NASKA super heavyweight world champion and a 10th Dan who founded Maryland's Best Karate in 1989 and built his own system, Dawson's Chung Do Kwan, out of karate, taekwondo, boxing, judo and hapkido.

Kam grew up on that mat. His father and Doctor Abdul-Azziz Muhammad, a 10th Dan in V.S.K Jiu-Jitsu, were his instructors. Soke Lil John Davis helped shape him too, and the fighter he names as his biggest influence is Soke Anthony "Mafia" Holloway.

Grandmaster Dawson passed away in December 2018. His words still hang over the school: you can not fake martial arts. Either you do it or you don't.

Youngest ever.

Kam started winning early. At 17 he became the youngest fighter ever to win a NASKA men's division, and the youngest to win an NBL national overall in men's sparring. In 2014 he took the overall grand championship at the Kumite Classic.

Team Paul Mitchell Martial Arts, founded in 1987 and the longest-running team in professional sport martial arts, added him to its fighting team younger than any fighter before him. In 2023 the team welcomed him back to its roster, and he has fought for it in individual and team sparring ever since.

The heavyweight.

At 6'1" and about 225 pounds, Kam fights like a smaller man: fast hands, a backfist he calls his favorite technique, and a side kick that has ended finals. Black Belt Magazine credited him with a buzzer-beating backfist in team fighting and a side kick to win the 2023 Ocean State SuperFights final.

He won his first heavyweight Diamond Ring in 2023 and his second in 2025, beating Team Paul Mitchell teammate Alex Mancillas in the final. In 2026 he won heavyweight at the U.S. Capitol Classics, took overall titles at Cowboy Up and the Guatemala International Open, and finished September as the No. 1 men's heavyweight in the ISKA rankings.

Owner. Chief instructor.

After his father's passing, Kam took over Maryland's Best Karate. Today he is its owner and chief instructor, holding a 9th Dan in Dawson's Chung Do Kwan and a 3rd Dan in V.S.K Jiu-Jitsu, and teaching students from five-year-old Little Dragons to adult jiu-jitsu.

When a flood destroyed the school's Business Parkway home in late 2025, the MBK community raised money to rebuild. The school now trains at 6797 Dorsey Road in Elkridge.

"Martial arts is so much more than just kicking and punching, and getting the next colorful belt," he tells new families. "It's about developing confidence, discipline, character, focus and respect."

Paying it forward.

Kam teaches seminars across the circuit, from USA Sport Karate's Mayan Challenge to Cowboy Up, and at the International Point Fighting Camp in Guatemala, where he has also run a charity seminar for children in need.

"It's a privilege to be a part of helping mold the next generation to strive for excellence," he wrote in 2026, "not only in competition, but in who they become off the mat as well."

He describes himself as a proud father, husband and business owner, and says he works every day to better himself mentally, physically, professionally and spiritually.