bt_bb_section_bottom_section_coverage_image
2026 Kumite Classic – Pittsburgh Power

The Pittsburgh Power Fitness Festival is scheduled for May 16–17, 2026 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. What the Power Fit Partnership Brings This alignment signals a stronger synergy between martial arts (via Kumite Classic) and the broader fitness/sport expo (via the Pittsburgh Power festival). Participants in martial arts will benefit...

Pittsburgh Martial Arts

Pittsburgh Martial Arts: How Kumite Classic & Viola Karate Are Shaping the Region’s Combat-Sports Legacy Pittsburgh martial arts is experiencing a powerful surge in visibility, driven by world-class events and a homegrown dojo with more than five decades of excellence. At the center of it all stands the Kumite Classic, the region’s premier martial-arts showcase,...

Gabby Viola “3rd Generation” Black Belt

Gabby Viola Joins the Viola Karate Legacy   On August 17th 2021, Pittsburgh area karate champion Gabby Viola celebrated her 11th birthday and simultaneously became the youngest Black Belt at Allegheny Shotokan, a dojo that dates back to the 1960s.  Gabby joins a Pittsburgh karate legacy that includes three generations of Viola black belts including...

Bill Viola Sr. and Bill Viola Jr. featured in Chuck Norris “Who’s Who” Book

Durham, NC, December 1, 2020 – Jessie Bowen, Director of the American Martial Arts Alliance Foundation announced the release of highly anticipated 2020 MARTIAL ARTS MASTERS & PIONEERS CHUCK NORRIS BIO BOOK – US & World Edition. The Viola Karate Family Honored in Chuck Norris “Who’s Who” Book Father and Son karate experts, Bill Viola...

Gabby Viola – Fighting in 🥋 and out ⚕️ of the Ring

Let me share.  Life isn’t fair, the sooner you accept that the better.  In 2018, completely out of the blue, my daughter Gabby was diagnosed with bowel disease, an incurable inflammatory form of colitis 😥.  Without too much detail you’d never know she is sick on the outside, but on the inside, it is killing...

WKC World Champions Karate & Kickboxing

2019 WKC 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 world’s best from 22 countries converged to compete in WKC Tatami-style divisions.  The competition was the largest WKC championships in history with over 2000 athletes. Team...

“Sensei Viola” Day in Pittsburgh

“Sensei Viola Day” is September 23rd 2019 in Pittsburgh to honor of Allegheny Shotokan Karate’s 50-year Anniversary WHEREAS, Allegheny Shotokan Karate, or Viola Karate as it is more commonly known today, was established in 1969 at East Allegheny High School by Bill Viola, Sr. and is celebrating its 50th anniversary of educating students in martial...

Kickboxing Karate Gold Medal Pan American Championships

North Huntingdon 9-year-old claims international kickboxing title STEPHEN HUBA | Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, 10:33 p.m. Xander Eddy might look like a normal student while he’s walking the halls of Sunset Valley Elementary School in North Huntingdon. But he’s got a secret weapon – his hands and his feet. Xander, short for Alexander, recently became the youngest American to...