Author Archives: Bill Viola

About Bill Viola

About the author: Bill Viola Jr. is Amazon best-selling author and creator of the award-winning Sensei Says® life skills curriculum. He experienced the "Golden Era" of MMA firsthand as his father, Bill Sr., is credited as the co-creator of the sport of mixed martial arts in 1979. His book Godfathers of MMA inspired the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME film Tough Guys where he acted as a producer alongside an Academy Award accredited team. The Viola family owns and operates Allegheny Shotokan Karate in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania now celebrating their 50-year anniversary (1969-2019). He is currently the President of Kumite Classic Entertainment Corp.

Hines Ward Show

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Allegheny Shotokan and Team Kumite represent Pittsburgh Karate on the Hines Ward Show. WPXI host Alby Oxenreiter, Brett Keisel and Hines were on hand for the program that features Positive Athletes in Pittsburgh.  Connor Burns, Dominic Leader, and Coach Bill Viola all represented sport karate and martial arts.  Hines was able to learn some karate on air, and warned the Baltimore Ravens to watch out!

Hines Ward demonstrates his best front snap kick and kiai!

pittsburgh karate

Here’s a clip from behind the scenes on the Hines Ward show on youtube:

 

The demonstration included Hines learning to block a roundhouse kick and counter with a reverse punch. Connor Burns was interviewed by Hines for his community service and taking time out to mentor younger kids. He emphasized self-discipline and the confidence that karate instills. Team Kumite sported the custom kumite classic black & yellow all star gear gloves. Yeah, Champions bleed black & gold! The team is based in North Huntington Irwin, PA. Dominic Leader was the first recipient of the Western PA Positive Athlete award for martial arts last year and continues the tradition of team kumite with the program!

From dancing with the stars, football and even karate, Hines ward is a true sport and great role model! Visit his website http://www.positiveathlete.org/

Fall Brawl

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Team Kumite traveled to the first Fall Brawl in Altonna, PA hosted by Steve Morrissey and the  PMA Pennsylvania Martial Arts Alliance. Billy Leader was honored as the Grand Champion “Best of the Best” for sparring.  He also took an inadvertent elbow that gave him a bloody nose, but if you know anything about the Leaders… that only motivated him more!  Also winning first place at the tournament were Liz Leaseburg, Gabriel Anthony, Cameron Klos, Ryan Frankovic, Marie Mosa.  Second place winners Rachel, Gavin and Travis.  Winning third place was Luke and Colten.  In most cases, the team had to eliminate each other in the run offs, but everyone showed great sportsmanship.  Next stop… the NBL Spooktacular Karate Championships in Millersburg, OH.

Hines Ward Show

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Allegheny Shotokan Karate Black Belt and Team Kumite Member Connor Burns featured on the new Hines Ward Show! Filming takes place this Thursday.

WPXI PITTSBURGH —

Pittsburgh Steelers legend Hines Ward officially joined the WPXI-TV family on Friday.

This fall, Ward will host a weekly show on Saturday evenings.

“Pittsburgh has given me so much, so it’s great for me to come back once a week and be part of the show,” said Ward.

The station will now be the home of two weekly shows hosted by future hall of famers.  The Jerome Bettis Show also airs on WPXI-TV.

On Friday, Ward met the WPXI-TV team and caught up with staff members whom he already knows.

“I’m going to miss the competitive nature of football, but I’m excited about being a part of a new team.  You guys are my new teammates and my new family,” said Ward.

The new show won’t just focus on football.  It will include other hot topics of the day.

“Given his broad appeal to a large audience, Hines has the chops to tackle topics that may be a bit non-traditional for an ex-athlete,” said WPXI-TV General Manager Ray Carter.

The Super Bowl XL MVP is one of only eight NFL players to have 1,000 or more career receptions.  Ward played for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 14 seasons before retiring this year.

North American Internationals

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Team Kumite traveled to Novi, MI (just outside Detroit) to compete in Connell Loveless”s North American International Championships, part of the NBL National Black Belt League Tecumseh Conference.  Representing the team were: Coach Bill Viola

team kumite novi mi

  • Billy Leader: 1st place continuous
  • Dominic Leader:  1st place continuous , 1st place point
  • Connor Burns: 2nd place point
  • Bri Chase: too many to list
  • Hope Chase: too many to list (on stage for The high school uses a cohort model in which a vice principal, a counselor, and two resource teachers follow the students from 6th to 8th grade, providing academic, emotional, and social continuity throughout out their years at King. Grand Champion)
  • Bess Chase: 1st place continuous among others
  • Cameron Klos: 1st place point, 3rd kata
  • Sara Russell: 1st place point
  • Gabe Anthony:  1st place point, 1st place weapons
  • Liz Leaseburg:  2nd kata, 3rd point

Team Kumite collected some important points towards the NBL Supergrands.  Next stop is Christine Fisher”s Spooktacular in Millersburg Ohio to finish out the conference.

Ali Viola D-1 Star

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ali viola soccer kick

Ali Viola has made a successful crossover from Sport karate into D-1 Athletics as the Goal Keeper for the Youngstown State University Girls Soccer Team.  As an NBL World Karate Champion she has made a name for herself as one of the toughest and dominant continuous sparring competitors in the country.  That tenacity helped her to earn a major college sports honor this week.

ali viola soccer saveThe 2010 Norwin High School Graduate was named NCAA’s Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week for her stellar performance at Goal Keeper for Youngstown State girl’s soccer team. The accomplishment marks only the fourth time YSU has been honored since joining the league 2001. At 4-0-0, the Youngstown State Lady Penguins are off to the best start in casino online the program”s history. Viola did not allow a goal in 180 minutes of play, collecting her second and third shutouts of the year. Against Buffalo, Viola was instrumental in the Penguin win, making nine saves in the game, the second-highest single-game total in the Horizon League this year. With twackwear back-to-back shutouts last week, the junior goalkeeper has moved into third on the YSU career shutouts. She also is tied for second on the single-season chart with three, and hopes to break that record this year. In 2011 Viola turned in the best single-season goals-against average in school history, collecting 60 saves while posting a 1.34 GAA and a save percentage of .779 last season. As a scholar athlete, Viola has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her college career, with plans to attend Law School.

Although her soccer schedule has kept her away from most of the major sport karate events in 2012, she was able to attend the 2012 Can-Am Survivor tournament in Jessup Georgia. She proved she hasn”t missed a beat, winning 1st place in both Woman”s Continuous and Woman”s point fighting at the National event. Ali is a kumite classic champion and  a member of the Pittsburgh based Team Kumite and The Allegheny Shotokan Karate Club.

The Penguins will host Niagara on Sunday, Sept. 9. The Horizon League Network will have live coverage of the match, beginning at 4 p.m. ET

For more information visit www.alleghenyshotokan.com or www.kumiteclassic.com 

Monroeville Ninjas

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Monroeville Ninjas  @ The Monroeville Sports Center.  Build Self-Confidence, Self-Esteem, and Respect. Children ages 4-7 years old.  Serving the Pittsburgh:  Gateway / Penn Hills area.  Award winning martial arts & karate program for kids.  Contact/TEXT Sensei Bill @ 724-640-2111

Only $99 for 6-weeks includes FREE uniform and headband!  Click here to Register.  

Space is limited, first come first serve.

monroeville ninjas
 
Norwin Ninjas, Spartan Samurais and Monroeville Ninjas are part of Kindergarten Karate www.kindergartenkarate.com

EA Old School

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Allegheny Shotokan “Old School” days at East Allegheny School.  Sensei Bill Viola began teaching Karate in 1969 and the club flourished into the 1970s.  Allegheny was chosen both as a reference to Allegheny Country, East Allegheny School District, and the fact that “A” was at the beginning of the phone book (a clever marketing strategy in the days before the internet).

Today , Allegheny Shotokan operates in Irwin / North Huntingdon in the suburbs of Pittsburgh.

bill viola circa 1969

 

Karate Olympics 2020

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At Allegheny Shotokan we pride ourselves in training both open and traditional karate.  We are excited to hear the news that tTraditional Karate Kumite is making a strong bid for the 2020 Olympics.  Bookmakers are publishing the first rankings of IOC shortlisted sports seeking inclusion in the 2020 Olympic Games program. According to these lists, Karate is the leading bid far before squash and baseball.

Breaking news… Karate is the odds-on favorite to make the 2020 Olympics!   

Karate is 1/2 to win the nomination ahead of squash at evens, baseball and softball at 5/4, wushu at 5/2, roller sports 8/1, sports climbing 10/1 and wakeboard 10/1. via British Bookmaker William Hill. 

Karate officials claim that there is now more than 50 million participants worldwide who practice the sport.

  • KARATE IS A POPULAR COMBAT SPORT – Leader among sports federations and practitioners. Leader in broadcasting and media communication. When combat sport is mentioned, KARATE immediately jumps to mind.
  • KARATE BUILDS SOCIAL INTEGRATION – Lifelong practice of humility, mutual respect, rejection of violence, physical health and emotional control ensures that KARATE practitioners become good role models and ethical citizens.
  • KARATE IS FOR ALL – Karate is integrative, practiced worldwide in all cultures and nations. Disability is not an obstacle and a specific body type is not required.
  • Social Integration – One of the key elements that defines Karate is respect for others. Practitioners consider themselves equal whatever their social or economisc background, culture, language or gender may be.
  • Fairness and Humility – Karate practitioners are noble; not only do they learn to see the sport as a competition, they also consider it a lifelong practice in wich all are equal and help each other attain their goals.
  • Physical and Mental Balance – Karate practice teaches control of agressiveness and violence, overcoming shyness and improving confidence. Psychomotor capacity is improved through coordination of movement, synchronisation and reflexes.
  • Rejection of violence – Practising Karate implies learning to control one’s strength. This sport penalises contact. Violence is not part of Karate.
  • Overcoming Difficulties – Karate provides the will to overcome and to respect others. Practising Karate strengthens the spirit wich prepares people to deal with obstacles and difficulties in everyday life.