Kumite Classic Entertainment (KCE) is a full-scale production company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The corporation was founded by Bill Viola Jr. in 1999 and continues to be an industry leader in the martial arts, mixed martial arts, sport karate, kickboxing, fitness, and sports markets. Under the Kumite Classic umbrella lies KCE Press (a bestselling publishing house), KCE Talent management, KCE consulting, and KCE promotions known internationally for its self-titled “Kumite Classic” combat sports tournament.

Since its inception, the Kumite Classic quickly earned “disruptor” status by single handily raising the bar for sport martial arts competition in the United States. Viola Jr., a world renown karate sensei and coach, was born into a martial arts family legacy. His father, Bill Viola Sr., pioneered full contact karate in the 1960s, and by 1979 co-created the sport of mixed martial arts, now a multi-billion-dollar industry since popularized by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Promotion was seemingly embedded in Viola Jr.’s DNA, and he set sights on building a larger audience for his niche sport—karate.

After winning the Arnold Classic competition in 1998, Viola Jr. met Arnold Schwarzenegger who inspired him to follow in his footsteps and establish his own version of a multi-sport convention in Pittsburgh. The Arnold Sports Festival is the largest fitness expo in the world, with bodybuilding firmly set at the cornerstone.  The show was electric, but martial arts were just window dressing. Kumite Classic followed a similar blueprint, but instead crowned karate as king of the convention center.