bill viola sr bill viola jr chuck norris book

Father and son will be honored together for their contributions to karate in a virtual awards ceremony Saturday.

Bill Viola Sr. and Bill Viola Jr. are inductees into the 2020 American Martial Arts Alliance’s Who’s Who Legends Hall of Honors with martial arts legend Chuck Norris.

They also are featured in the 2020 edition of the Chuck Norris Who’s Who in the Martial Arts Masters & Pioneers biography book that celebrates the history and tradition of many of the arts’ top names.

“It’s a huge accomplishment for an individual, but having us both recognized as pioneers is something special,” Viola Sr. said. “Karate is our way of life.”

Viola Sr., one of the most recognizable names in the karate industry, was honored by Allegheny County on Sept. 23 with “Sensei Viola Day” to mark the 50-year anniversary of him founding Allegheny Shotokan Karate in North Huntingdon.

Recognized as a founding father of modern mixed martial arts, the USA Karate Hall of Fame member’s life is the subject of the books “Godfathers of MMA” and “Tough Guys,” which inspired the Showtime “Tough Guys” film in 2017.

The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh opened an exhibit in 2011 on the roots of mixed martial arts that included memorabilia from Viola Sr., fellow area promoter Frank Caliguri, a Lower Burrell resident, and others in the sport.

Caliguri was recognized by the AMAA Foundation in June as a Hall of Honor award recipient and also is included in the Who’s Who book.

Sensei Bill Viola Jr. wears many hats in the martial arts world: author, instructor, international competition champion and fitness promoter.

A producer on the “Tough Guys” film, Viola Jr. is set to release a book series, “Common Sensei,” in 2021 that shares his perspective on how one can do various things to have a rich and meaningful life experience.

A USA Karate national champion, he was recognized by Arnold Schwarzenegger as a world champion in 1998.

“This is the first time we’ve been honored and featured together in the same book as father-son pioneers,” said Viola Jr., the founder of the Norwin Ninjas martial arts program and the annual Kumite Classic and Pittsburgh Fitness Expo, the region’s largest multisport event.

“We both have our individual accomplishments. I have always been inspired to follow in my dad’s footsteps and do some of the great things he has done. This just came to pass where we were able to be honored collectively, and that’s what makes this so special.”

The coronavirus pandemic changed the Who’s Who ceremony and conference to an online virtual presentation. It will be the official public release of the book.

The conference will feature online seminars and martial arts demonstrations in addition to honoring Norris and the Violas.

“The pandemic has changed the structure of everything in life,” Viola Jr. said.

“So instead of being able to travel down to Texas for the physical presentation, we’re going to do a virtual book launch and roundtable-type discussions with pioneers and other people in the industry. That’s the best solution we can come up with given the current state of affairs.”

The event also will be an opportunity to raise money for The Kickstart Kids, Norris’ in-school character development program that uses karate to teach life lessons and values to students in middle school and high school.

Norris started the program in 1990 with the help of then-President George H.W. Bush.

“It is such a great nonprofit that is helping a lot of kids throughout the country,” Viola Jr. said.

The virtual conference is an all-day event, and the Hall of Honors ceremony will be at 6 p.m. All of the day’s festivities can be viewed at whoswhointhemartialarts.com.

“It still will be a great chance to get the book out to the public and have fans and martial artists alike be able to tune in and be a part of the celebration,” Viola Jr. said.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer.

Tribune Review

For more information on the Chuck Norris Hall of Honors visit Kumite Classic

Tough Guys #1 Amazon Best Seller Mixed Marital Arts MMA Book

An interview with the Bill Viola Jr. (Author of Amazon #1 best seller Tough Guys).

Tough Guys (2017) Kumite Classic Press

Oct. 16, 2017

Why and when did you decide to write Godfathers of MMA?

The real story of who invented the sport of MMA in America was in jeopardy of being lost forever. My father and his business partner created a regulated MMA in 1979, and I needed to set the record straight. They deserved credit and I was shocked that all of the history books available were clueless. It began as a passion piece to provide information and morphed into the most the most comprehensive book on early MMA history.

What is the book about?

You get an inside look into the minds and events of the men who “mixed” the martial arts a decade before the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship.” They created a new sport in the form of the Tough Guys.

How did things with the movie get started?

Shortly after the exclusive preview run of Godfathers of MMA, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Robert Zullo stumbled upon the Tough Guys exhibit featured at the Heinz History center. The display recognizes Pittsburgh as the Birthplace of MMA. The display is located right next to Franco Harris’s immaculate reception and catches a lot of attention. Zullo explains, “I couldn’t believe I’d never heard about this story. I was enamored with the time, place and machismo of the whole thing. I just had a gut instinct to meet these guys.” Zullo reached out to his brother Will and childhood friend Craig DiBiase a producer [MinusL] and Director Henry Roosevelt from New York City. Zullo also got his Academy Award winning cousin, Ross Kaufmann, on board. Two years later after 52TB of filming, the Tough Guys Doc was born.

When did the movie start in production?

Production began in the summer of 2015. One of the feature locations was Allegheny Shotokan Karate in North Huntingdon. My favorite location was Ritters Diner which we retrofitted to look like a 1979 Dennys. I played my father in a famous scence where we hashed out the name ‘Tough.’

Was it all filmed in Pittsburgh?

We had 18 locations from Florida to New York but the bulk of the footage and interviews were from Western Pennsylvania (North Huntingdon, New Kensington and Pittsburgh).

How did the name Tough Guys come about?

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Pittsburgh was the epitome of a blue collar ‘tough’ city. This sport would be an open call for the ‘toughest’ guys on the planet to fight, so Tough Guys was fitting for the era.

Who starred in it?

The documentary stars the men who lived it. We were fortunate to film the original fighters and pioneers. One of the stars was Dave Jones. He trained at my father’s dojo and actually worked for North Huntingdon Township as part of a ‘road gang’ and laborer. Dave fought in the first fight and won by TKO. He was fearless–I looked up to him as a kid.

Can you tell me about the production process…your role, how production went, any details you can add about the highlights of the movie? I

had the unique experience to wear many hats on the project: the production end, consulting end, and even played a 1979 version of my father in the famous ‘Denny’s Restaurant’ scene. Since my book was the master outline, I had to on point.

When did the movie premiere?

Initial praise attracted a star studded lineup of executive producers including Academy Award® Nominated Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me) and Oscar winning writer Ross Kaufmann (Born in Brothels). The world premiere of “Tough Guys” took place at the American Film Institute (AFI) Docs on June 15th 2017 at the famous Landmark Theatre in Washington, DC. It was screened the day after the mega Mayweather / McGregor announcement. The film sold out.

And when did it air on Showtime? September 15^th

Will it be shown again in the future? It aired all of September and October. Then it will be distributed internationally.

Do you have plans to write anymore books or be involved in any other movies?

After the Showtime debut, my commemorative edition of the book retitled ‘Tough Guys’. It just hit #1 on the Amazon Best Sellers list for sports today. It’s received critical acclaim and we’ve been getting offers for a screenplay to turn the journey into a major motion picture. That is my ultimate goal. With the right team, I know this could an Oscar worthy drama.

How passionate are you about MMA?

I am most passionate about teaching and sharing my knowledge. It’s a family legacy. All my siblings are black belts and now I am mentoring my daughter (Gabby) and will have my son William Viola IV who was just born in September on the mat soon.

What, exactly, is MMA?

MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) is a sport that combines all disciplines of combats sports (boxing, karate, wrestling, judo etc.) fighting into regulated competition. My father is credited for writing the first legitimate rule book in 1979. The UFC, the sports largest franchise, was sold for 4 billion dollars in 2016. If Pennsylvania didn’t outlaw the sport in 1983, my father and Frank would be at the helm of that empire.

How can people get a copy of the book?