For
Immediate Release: 11/21/19 Contact: Call/Text Bill Viola Jr. 724-640-2111
2019 World
Titles brought home to Western Pennsylvania
The World Karate and Kickboxing Council (WKC) hosted the World Championships November, 3rd -9th in Niagara Falls, New York.   The worldâs best from 22 countries converged to compete in WKC Tatami-style divisions. The competition was the largest WKC championships in history with thousands of athletes.
Riley Evans on the podium
Team
USA was comprised of athletes from across the country who won the National Team
trials in Detroit this past June. 13
members from Allegheny Shotokan âViolaâ Karate Dojo earned positions to
represent the United States at the World Championships. Of that group, 5 students advanced to the
medal rounds and secured top honors.
These medals are the first ever for the Pittsburgh region.
Sensei Bill Viola Jr. said, âI am proud of the way these kids represented our community and the United States. Win or lose, they demonstrated respect and determination. We they play our National Anthem for Gold, it makes all the sacrifice worthwhile.â
The 2020 WKC World Championships will be held
in Madrid, Spain. The team will be
fundraising to send a team to Spain and to visit Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that I, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, by virtue of the authority vested in me, do hereby proclaim September 23, 2019 as âSensei Bill Viola Dayâ in Allegheny County. We congratulate Sensei Bill Viola and the Allegheny Shotokan Karate School on their 50th anniversary and wish them many more successful years to come.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the County of Allegheny to be affixed this 23rd day of September, 2019.
Hey Google, when is
Sensei Viola Day
Tribune Review Article:
Learning the discipline of karate requires humility, but operating a successful karate studio for 50 years requires self-confidence, self-promotion and even a certain amount of bravado.
William Viola Sr. doesnât see a contradiction between the two.
What keeps his feet on the ground are the expressions of gratitude he regularly gets from students.
âI always thought that if I could change one person ⊠that, to me, is so much more important than papers and glittery things,â he said. âWhen you change someoneâs life positively, that is more important.â
Viola, 71, of North Huntingdon, has plenty of accolades on his walls but prefers to think of the tens of thousands of students who have passed through the doors of Allegheny Shotokan, now known as Viola Karate.
âI have some kids who started with me when they were 4-5 years old who are still here,â he said recently.
Viola will soon be able to add proclamations from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties to his list of accomplishments. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald has designated Monday as âSensei Bill Viola Day.â
The proclamation notes that Viola not only helped popularize karate in Western Pennsylvania but also became an advocate for the sport worldwide, leading to its acceptance as an Olympic sport in Tokyo in 2020. As co-creator of the sport of mixed martial arts, he is the subject of a book, a documentary and a museum exhibit.
On the 50th anniversary of Viola Karate, the founder said, âNothing I did in the 1970s would work now, but the basic concepts of character and self-discipline are the same â those are the things you have to keep. Those are the building blocks.â
Kick start
A native of Brownsville, Fayette County, Viola was introduced to karate in the early 1960s by âone of my friends throwing me around, knocking me down, kicking and punching me.â The friend, Medick Capirano, had learned martial arts as an ROTC student at West Virginia University.
âI said, âGeez, this is great.â ⊠That really piqued my interest,â he said.
While a student at what is now California University of Pennsylvania, Viola started giving private karate lessons to football player and friend Denny Costello. Upon graduating and accepting a teaching job at East Allegheny High School, he started an after-school karate program for adults and began teaching karate to students as an extracurricular activity.
âWe were one of the first American public high schools to offer karate as an accredited course,â he said.
It didnât hurt that at the time, in the late 1960s and early â70s, karate was enjoying a âgolden eraâ courtesy of TV shows such as âThe Green Hornetâ and âKung Fu.â
The level of interest was high enough for Viola to open his first studio in 1969 in an old community center in Turtle Creek. He rented the space for $50 a month.
âThe catch was: the furnace didnât work, we had to put buckets out because the ceiling leaked, the floors had cracks in them. I thought it was great,â he said.
He later opened studios in White Oak, Irwin, Paintertown and West Newton, although he has spent the longest amount of time on U.S. Route 30 in North Huntingdon.
Viola said the secret to his success was combining his skills as a teacher â he taught science at East Allegheny for 30 years â with his love of martial arts. He still teaches a black belt class at Viola Karate every Monday night.
His first black belt student was Jack Bodell, who went on to become a Secret Service agent assigned to President Jimmy Carterâs security detail. Viola is a ninth-degree black belt.
Capitalizing on the âmystiqueâ of the martial arts, Viola taught karate as a way of life and not just as a way to break boards, kick and punch. He retained students by learning their names and something about each one of them.
âThatâs why Iâve kept so many students for so long,â he said.
His longest-tenured student is Ray Adams, 76, who joined the studio in 1971 and still actively trains today. âI just earned my master rank and have no plans of slowing down,â Adams said. âMy next test will be in my 80s.â
Getting tough
In 1980, Viola and business partner Frank Caliguiri, sitting in a Dennyâs in Monroeville, dreamed up the first âtough guyâ contest in Western Pennsylvania. The idea was to recruit men who fancied themselves as good street fighters and put them in the ring with a referee.
The first âtough guyâ contest was held March 20-22, 1980, at the New Kensington Holiday Inn, with a finals match at the Stanley Theater (now the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts) in downtown Pittsburgh.
Tough guy contests were banned in Pennsylvania in 1983. But times changed, and by 2009, the ban had been lifted. In 2011, Viola and Caliguiri were memorialized as co-creators of mixed martial arts, or MMA, in an exhibit at the Senator John Heinz History Center in the Strip District.
Viola gets a kick out of the fact that the MMA exhibit is adjacent to the one honoring Franco Harrisâ âImmaculate Receptionâ for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In 2017, Showtime debuted the documentary âTough Guys,â which tells the story of the early tough guys contests and controversies. The documentary, which features extensive interviews with Viola and Caliguiri, was based on the 2014 book âGodfathers of MMA,â written by Violaâs son, Bill Viola Jr., and his cousin Fred Adams.
Viola Jr. has received the mantle from his father and now operates Viola Karate. In 2017, one of his students, 9-year-old Xander Eddy, won the gold medal in his age category at the Pan American Kickboxing Championships in Mexico.
In addition to being âSensei Bill Viola Day,â Sept. 23 is the birthday of Violaâs grandson, William Viola IV, who, along with his sister, Gabby, is a fixture at the studio.
Viola also has four daughters, Joce and Jacque, who are pharmacists in North Huntingdon, Addie, a teacher in Bethel Park, and Ali, a lawyer in Pittsburgh.
Stephen Huba is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Stephen at 724-850-1280
Stow, Ohio-The USA Karate Federation has unveiled its 2019 Hall of Fame Class, to be inducted at a black-tie ceremony on March 9, at the SYB Party Center 4157 Hudson Drive Stow, Ohio. Bill Viola of Pittsburgh, PA was nominated as an inductee into the Hall of Fame as a Pioneer of USA Karate for his contributions to the Olympic karate movement during the 1980s and 1990s. He is a previous member of the class of 2003, inducted as USA Karate “Man of Year” and “Distinguished Service.” His son Bill Viola Jr., was nominated as an Athlete but was unable to attend the ceremony.
The 2019 Hall of Fame Class includes the entirety of the overall effort to raise the standing of Karate competition to Olympic quality. This includes individuals who competed Nationally and Internationally as athletes, Regional Sports Organization Administrators, and National and International referees, coaches and officials.
Shihan Bill Viola and Shihan Mike Bukala – Olympic Karate Pioneers under WUKO, AAU, USA Karate
All of the inductees were selected by a determination of a selection committee of the USA Karate Federation and past members of the Hall of Fame.
This year the USA Karate Federation will also honor its former President, the late George E. Anderson, who is world renowned as man responsible for getting the Olympic Karate Movement started by posthumously awarding him a 10th Dan in Karate. Hanshi Anderson had over 50 years of martial arts experience, and was President of both the AAU Karate and USA Karate programs as well as a member of the United States Olympic Committee. He was also the founder of the USA Karate Federation (USAKF), which became the National Governing Body for Sport Karate in the United States. Internationally Anderson was President of the Pan American Union of Karate-do Organization, and was senior vice-president of the World Union of Karate-do Organizations, the international governing body for sport karate as well as serving as their chief referee.
George Anderson
Sadly, and unexpectedly, Anderson passed away on August 6, 2009. However, in 18-months his dream of having karate participate in the Olympic Games will become a reality in Tokyo 2020. In his honor, the USA Karate Federation will be presenting special Pioneer Awards for those who helped Anderson achieve Olympic recognition.
âFor many years the best karate athletes in the United States were part of the USA Karate Federation. This is where the Olympic Karate movement started, and today the coaches, administrators, and athletes of the USA can thank the pioneers of the USAKF for making their Olympic dreams come true,â said Patrick Hickey, current president of the USAKF. âWe are thrilled to induct another outstanding group of individuals into our Hall of Fame. This event is truly a special night to honor their accomplishments and recognize the foundation they have laid for the karate athletes of today.â
In 1987 Shihan Viola established USA Karate Allegheny Mountain Region. The RSO was a qualifier for the USA Karate Federation (USAKF) National Championships for over a decade. The USAKF was the national governing body for Karate in the United States (1985-1995), and member of the US Olympic Committee. George Anderson (USAKF President) was the father of âOlympic Karateâ Without his contributions and his team during the 1980s and 1990s karate would have not reached the Pan American Games. In 1992 Viola hosted the USA Karate Junior Olympics at the University of Pittsburgh Field House with Master George Anderson. Sensei Bill Viola Jr. was a triple Gold Medalist at the Jr. Olympics. The only athlete to win Gold in kata, kumite and kobudo.
USA Karate Team Members Jack Bodell, Rich Sowash, Doug Selchan and Dustin Baldis began their training at the school. Bodell was the first black belt promoted by Shihan Viola and would go on to be a member of the United States Secret Service protecting President Jimmy Carter. He also served as a referee for CV Productions during the Tough Guy Contest craze (The first mixed martial arts competitions in America). Bodell would open additional schools in the late 1980s including West Newton, PA (School of Orthodox Shotokan Karate). Their he oversaw Selchan and Baldis before relocating south to Memphis, Tenn. Selchan took over as head instructor for the dojo. Doug went on the win a Gold Medal the 1999 Pan-American Games in the +80kg Kumite for the United States. While in Tennessee, Bodell trained USA Karate Team Member Clay Morton.
Doug Selchan
Jack, Shihan, Bill Jr.
Man of the Year
Shihan Viola was inducted into the USA Karate Hall of Fame and honored as the 2003 Man of the year (Lifetime Achievement). Bill Jr. was a USA Karate All-American Athlete, multi-time National Champion and Member of USA Karate team in late 1990s.
Left-Right: (The Masters Club) Bill Viola Jr., Dave Zezza, Bill Viola Sr., Ray Adams, Ray Walters. Not pictured Jack Bodell
On Wednesday August 29, 2018 history was made at the Allegheny Shotokan Viola Karate Dojo.  North Huntingdon / Irwin Residents Sensei Ray Adams, 76, and Sensei Dave Zezza, 63, were promoted to Master Rank in the art of Shotokan karate. It has been a lifetime of study, practice, and diligence that both men agree that has been, âa journey and not a destination.â
Karate is a journey, not a destination
Adams first donned a karate gi (uniform) in 1970. It’s a routine he still carries on today. He was a photography teacher at East Allegheny High School when and met fellow teacher Bill Viola Sr. (Founder of the dojo). Adams explains, âIn those days karate was brand new. Sensei [Viola Sr.] had been teaching the students in the high school gymnasium and I wanted in on the action.â   Nearly fifty years later, Ray is still kicking, teaching and loving living the martial way.
His training partner Dave Zezza, shares his passion as both men obtained 5th Dan (degree). Zezza, a systems consultant, began in his late thirties, and at age 63 heâs never looked back. Affectionately nicknamed âTomboâ or dragonfly in Japanese, he is the resident Kobudo weapons expert at the dojo. Zezza sports a dragonfly tattoo on his arm to signify his commitment.  Viola Sr. explains, âOur philosophy is âold school.â Black belts come and go, but to be a master we require a unique combination of character, skill, and teaching ability with decades of training.â
Adams and Zezza are still “learning.” They explain that a black belt is just the beginning. Now at master rank, they don’t plan on slowing down. Zezza explains, “I’m always thirsty for knowledge.” Both men thank Shihan Viola and Sensei Ray Walters for pushing them. They also acknowledge their friend and fellow Alumni of the dojo, Sensei Joe Bauccio, who relocated to Florida. Bauccio is training towards joining them in the ranks soon.
Adams and Zezza join a very elite club where only a few other Masters have ever etched their names. The exclusive fraternity requires a lifetime of dedication to be inducted. The only other Masters in the Allegheny Shotokan Karate Association are Bill Viola Sr., Bill Viola Jr. Ray Walters, and Jack Bodell.
The men exemplify that age is truly just a number, as both plan on kicking as long as their bodies allow them. If they can’t kick, they will just punch đ.  Adams and Zezza also teach and share their knowledge weekly with the younger members of the dojo and train themselves every Saturday morning and attend Shihan Violaâs black belt class every Monday night.
The official presentation to the dojo members and “gong” ceremony will take place Wednesday September 5, 2018.
Master can be defined as an artist of consummate skill. Adams and Zezza are a perfect examples of men who continue to evolve and share their experience. We are blessed to have them apart of our karate family. The Viola Karate dojo will celebrates its 50-year-anniversary in 2019. The new Masters are looking forward to a reunion workout .
Master Zezza and Adams know all 27 Shotokan Kata (listed below) so Shihan gave them a challenge outside of their comfort zone. They had to learn a kata other than Shotokan style and learn the differences in method, technique, and execution. The Goju kata Suparinpei was chosen.Â
Suparinpei is the most advanced Kata in Goju-Ryu and contains the greatest number of techniques. It is translated as the number “108.” 108 is suggested to have origins in Buddhism and can represent the “108 sins of man”. On the Chinese New Year, temple bells are rung 108 times to “drive away the evils of man.” In japanese we call this kata Hyakuhachiho. Â
We gave Parkinson’s a swift KICK this weekend! Very proud to announce that Allegheny Shotokan “Viola” karate and its sister program Norwin Ninjas in conjunction with Team Kumite to have combined to raise over $10,000 for The Pittsburgh Institute of Neurological Diseases #PIND Read more.Â
Sensei Bill’s Grandmother
The âKICKâ concept was developed Irwin native Bill Viola Jr., founder of Kumite Classic Entertainment, and former Mayor and State Senator Sean Logan. Logan was diagnosed with early onset Parkinsonâs disease in his mid-forties and Viola spent years caring for his Grandmother who passed away from neurodegenerative complications.
Logan developed a 5K to promote his âDo Somethingâ campaign as means to encourage exercise. Physical activity has been proven to be an effective method to combat Parkinsonâs disease.   Viola parented with Logan in 2017 to add a âKick-a-thonâ element to the 5k, and its growth has been exponential. Viola explains, âLast year the KICK raised just over $5000 with 50 participants. This year we doubled both brining us up to over $15,000 with just two kicks-a-thons.
Sensei Bill Viola Jr. is featured in Martial Arts Success Magazine. He explains “How to Organize a Successful Tournament” in the feature story of the issue. Viola is considered one of the foremost experts on tournament promotion in America.
Congratulations to Xander Eddy and Luke Lokay for earning a spots on âTeam USAâ at the WAKO National Team Trials in Kansas City. The two have been selected to represent America at the WAKO Team Trials in Kansas City and our official members of “Team USA” At the Pan-American Games (Mexico)and Jr. World Championships (Italy).  Austin Hladek won Bronze and an alternate position for the Pan-American Games. Gavin Hladek made his debut in the black belt division placing as a finalist.
Today WAKO counts on 128 affiliated nations in the 5 continents, which are officially recognized by either National Olympic Committee or relevant National Government Sports Authority.
The World Association of Kickboxing Organizations or WAKO; is the largest international organization of kickboxing, and the governing body of Amateur kickboxing sport certified by SportAccord. It is formed of two organizations: WAKO for amateur sports and WAKO PRO for professional sports. Besides holding world championships, WAKO sanctions the champions of kickboxing in six rule styles.
WAKO holds a world championships every two years, with youth (18 and under) and adults (18â45) on separate years; only national teams are accepted. Each member country can present only one competitor in each weight class. Competitors are commonly the national champion of their weight class in that particular kickboxing style and many are also officially recognized by their National Olympic Committees or Ministry of Sports.
WAKO kickboxing was one of thirteen combat sports participating in the first ever World Combat Games which were held in Beijing, China under the patronage of the IOC and SportAccord in 2010. WAKO once again participated in the 2013 World Combat Games which were held in St. Petersburg Russia in October of 2013 under the patronage of the IOC and SportA  ccord. Three rule styles were involved at the Combat Games â Low Kick, Point Fighting, and Full Contact.Â
WAKO USA and WAKO PRO govern and sanction the sport of kickboxing in three rule styles that compete inside a boxing ring: Full Contact, Low Kick, and K-1.
WAKO USA governs and supports martial arts competition which takes place on a matted floor in four styles: Point Fighting, Light Contact, Kick-Light, and Musical Forms.
Every two years the WAKO World Championships brings together the best athletes from around the world to compete in each rule style. Each of WAKOâs 85 affiliated national federations can present only 1 competitor in each weight class and the WAKO World Championships determines who truly is the best of the best.
When you think of MMA, most people think Dana White. Â He has been the face of the UFC and mixed martial arts for years. Â A new documentary reveals the true creators of MMA: Â Pittsburgh martial artists Bill Viola Sr. and Frank Caliguri (1979-1983). Their company CV Productions was the first MMA promotion in America and established the first league in history. Â They were ultimate fighters ahead of their time who invented the Tough Guy Contest.
Emotional day! In 2007 I set out to share the untold story of the âTough Guys.â These are the men who created the sport of MMA while Dana White was still in elementary school and 13 years before the UFC existed. A decade later and my book (along with my cousin Fred) âGodfathers of MMAâ is coming to life on SHOWTIME ? The same network that just set PPV records with Mayweather vs McGregor, will broadcast the real origins of MMA in America. Pittsburgh is the “City of Champions” and now can add “Birthplace of MMA” to its banners! It may have been the wrong place wrong time… but it was one hell of a ride. Congrats to my dad and Frank on being a part of American sports history!!!!!!! #toughguys#godfathersofmma#showtime -Sensei Bill Viola Jr.
ACADEMY AWARDÂź NOMINATED MORGAN SPURLOCK JOINS ACADEMY AWARDÂź WINNER ROSS KAUFFMAN FOR THE MIXED MARTIAL ARTS DOCUMENTARY âTOUGH GUYSâ
DOCU FILM ON THE ORIGINS OF THE MIXED MARTIAL ARTS COMPETITION PHENOMENON IS SET TO WORLD PREMIERE THURSDAY AT AFI DOCS IN WASHINGTON DC
June 12, 2017 â NEW YORK, NY Academy AwardÂź nominated documentarian Morgan Spurlock (SUPER SIZE ME) teams with fellow OscarÂź winning filmmaker Ross Kauffman (BORN INTO BROTHELS) to bring TOUGH GUYS – the story of the origins of the mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting phenomenon – to the big screen. The film is executive produced by Kauffman and Spurlock together with Spurlockâs business partner Jeremy Chilnick.
TOUGH GUYS is directed by two award-winning filmmakers, Henry Roosevelt and W.B. Zullo and produced by the award winning commercial producer Craig DiBiase. This moving and insightful non-fiction cinematic film chronicles the origins of the MMA beginning in Pittsburgh, PA in the early 1980s. Back then, these fights were known as the âtough man,â or âtough guy,â or âbattle of the brawlers,â or âbattle of the superfightersâ matches. These fighting bouts have now achieved multimillion-dollar fight status.
“When I was around 12 years old, my dad took me to my first âtough guyâ competition in my hometown of Beckley, WV,â says Spurlock. âAnd I have to admit, it was one of the greatest things I’d ever seen. So when the opportunity came along for me help tell the story of its origin, I jumped at the chance. TOUGH GUYS is an unbelievable tale about the creation of this one of a kind, man against man, skill against skill, sport of the ages. Films like this are rare discoveries, and the characters behind them are even more incredible. If you like watching guys get punched in the face as much as I do, then you are going to love this movie!â
In 1979, Bill Viola and Frank Caliguri dreamed up a contest pitting barroom bigmouths against wrestlers, martial artists, boxers, bouncers and brawlers, billed as no-holds-barred new type of competitive fighting. When the fights succeeded beyond their wildest expectations, they were swept up in a chain of events that ended in the first mixed-martial arts ban in the nation.
Presented through the untold stories of scrappy brawlers and amateur promoters, TOUGH GUYS chronicles the inception of Caliguri and Violaâs first bouts and the colorful, crazy cast of fighters who made them a hit as well as the politicians who brought it all crashing down. The film brings to life a moment when the national martial arts craze was building to a crescendo as the economies of Pennsylvania steel towns were plummeting to levels of unemployment never seen before or since, breeding desperate men looking for chance to prove their worth and earn some money in the ring.
“Like my previous films, BORN INTO BROTHELS and E-TEAM, TOUGH GUYS is about underdogs striving to achieve the impossible,â states Kauffman. âIn TOUGH GUYS, the
underdog is America’s working class who are searching for respect and ultimately a way to survive. When I got involved I didn’t know how timely the story would be.â
TOUGH GUYS made ts world premiere on June 15 at the AFI DOCS Film Festival in Washington, DC. It will make its network debut Sept. 15th 2017 on Showtime
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ABOUT TOUGH GUYS Told through the colorful stories of scrappy brawlers and amateur promoters, TOUGH GUYS brings to life the birth of mixed martial arts competitions in 1980âs Pittsburgh. The idea to legitimize street fighting by putting it in the ring, brought big money, crowds, copycat competitions and ultimately scrutiny and tighter control. The film is directed by Henry Roosevelt and W.B. Zullo and produced by award winning commercial producer Craig DiBiase. It is executive produced by Oscar winner Ross Kauffman together with Oscar nominated director Morgan Spurlock and his producing partner Jeremy Chlinick.
ABOUT MORGAN SPURLOCK Morgan Spurlock is an OscarÂź nominated filmmaker and founder of Warrior Poets, a New York-based production studio. His first film, SUPER SIZE ME, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004, winning Best Directing honors. The film went on to win the inaugural WGA Best Documentary Screenplay award, as well as garner an Academy AwardÂź nomination for Best Feature Documentary. Since then he has directed, produced, and distributed multiple film, television and online projects, including THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD; WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN?; RATS; MANSOME; CNNâs INSIDE MAN; and more.
ABOUT ROSS KAUFFMAN Ross Kauffman is the Academy Award winning Director, Producer and Cinematographer of BORN INTO BROTHELS, winner of the 2005 Academy Award for Best Documentary. He is Co-Director of E-TEAM, a documentary about the high-stakes investigative work of four human rights workers and winner of the 2014 Sundance Cinematography award. He served as Executive Producer on the documentary feature IN A DREAM, which was short-listed for the 2009 Academy Awards and as Consulting Producer on the Academy Award nominated film POSTERGIRL. Ross is a Founder and Creative Director of Fictionless.
Allegheny Shotokan named ‘top team’ at Pittsburgh Kumite Classic
STAFF REPORT | Sunday, July 2, 2017, 11:00 p.m.
The Allegheny Shotokan Karate School was honored as the âTop Teamâ at the 2017 Kumite Classic martial arts championships at the 18th annual Pittsburgh Fitness Expo on May 26-27 at Monroeville Convention Center.
The Kumite Classic is the region’s largest multisport convention, featuring more than 100,000 square feet of competitions and participation from around the world.
One hundred students from the Pittsburgh based school and their sister program âNorwin Ninjasâ competed at the tournament. The school brought home more top honors than any other school in North America.
The team qualified to compete in Las Vegas this week for the WAKO North American Championships, part of UFC International Fight Week at the MGM Grand.
The team is coached by Sensei Bill Viola Jr. and Shihan Bill Viola Sr.
For more information about Pittsburgh area karate classes visit www.Norwinninjas.com.
