Tag Archives: karate tournament

Summer Smash Karate Tournament

The first annual Summer Smash is in the books, and team Kumite had an impressive showing at the tournament.  Sensei Bill Viola was the head referee and Sensei Ali, Billy and Dom were coordinators.

summer smash

Billy Leader wins the adult black belt Grand Championship with Gojushihosho proving he is not just a national sparring champion but a well rounded martial artist.

Dominic Leader won the black belt sparring championship while his brother Billy took home the top honors in traditional kata.  Cameron Klos won the Jr. Black Belt Sparring title casino jameshallison and Rachel Bartuska took home the advanced grand championship.  The team dominiated the kids sparring divisions, and young Brady Johnson had a standout performance winning the 7-8 division.  Congrats to everyone who attended.  Hope Chase, Bridgid Chase, and Bess Chase aka the Chase sisters all took first places in the Jr. Black Belt divisions.  Special thanks to Ron and Diane Cain for serving has head coordinators, and all our NBL friends who were in attendance to support the event.

Congratulations to White Viper and Peter Chase and Bridgid Chase for hosting a fun and organized competition.

NBL Player of the Year

Pittsburgh Martial Artist and Team Kumite Classic member Billy Leader receives the 2012 NBL Diamond Award Winner for Sport Karate “Player of the Year”

The 23rd Sport Karate World Games known internationally as the “Super Grands” was held 26th-31st in Buffalo New York. The tournament is sanctioned by the National Black Belt League (NBL) and Sport Karate International (SKIL) which are responsible for the largest sport karate ranking system and league for black belts in the world. The competition is the equivalent of the Super Bowl for martial arts with thousands of world class competitors representing North America, South America, and Europe each year at the Games. The competitor must compete at a series of regional and national events to earn a seed and qualify for the competition, a process similar to NCAA tournaments that is required to secure an invitation.


At the closing ceremonies of the World Games, the NBL Executive Office votes on a series of Hall of Fame categories that represent the entire league. For the first time in Pittsburgh history, a local resident was honored with the NBL Diamond “Player Award” The 21-year-old Billy Leader of North Huntingdon Township was inducted into the NBL Hall of Fame on December 31st 2012 and honored with this prestigious title. Leader’s coach Sensei Bill Viola Jr explains, “It is a special honor, an award for his entire body of work as a competitor. He was in contention with thousands of international competitors worldwide. This is huge, it puts Pittsburgh on the map when it comes to sport karate.” The Norwin Graduate and Penn State Junior has studied martial arts since he was three years old at the Allegheny Shotokan Karate School in atoledo Irwin, PA.
Allegheny Shotokan was founded in 1969 and since has produced more World Champions than any other school in the Pittsburgh region. They school as a rich tradition of representing Pennsylvania and the United States at the World Games dating back to the establishment of the league. Serving as captain of the Pittsburgh based all-star Team Kumite Classic, Leader defeated Andres Garcia of Guatemala (the reigning 6-time World Champion) in the Men’s Light Middleweight Continuous Sparring division en route to an appearance on the main stage for the finals. His brother, 19-year-old Dominic Leader, also advanced to the finals to face Hugo Mendoza of Mexico. Leader’s teammate also includes 20-year old Ali Viola who claimed her 4th continuous sparring World Title by defeating the top international competitors from Canada, Guatemala and Mexico in the finals. Viola had previously become the first female form Pittsburgh to win a World Title in 2006, 2008, and 2009 before winning the Adult title this year.
The Team Kumite Classic Roster also includes a trio of sisters; 14-year-old Bridget Chase, 13-year-old Hope Chase, 11-year old Bess Chase all of Imperial, PA and 17-year-old Connor Burns of North Huntingdon who was inactive due to a torn ACL two weeks prior to the tournament. All of the athletes compete in Black Belt Continuous Sparring, a hybrid of kickboxing which requires high levels of endurance and physical toughness.  Coach Viola was very proud of his team stating, “In all, we qualified six black belts who attended the World Games, and all six placed top three in the World. Its an incredible winning percentage, especially when you consider that our school is the only one in the Pittsburgh area to bring home a World Title. They are a special group of students and Billy [Leader] works harder than any other student I have ever had. Winning player of the year is well deserved.” Congrats Billy.

To see Billy or any of the Team Kumite members in action, mark your calendar for the 2013 Kumite Classic Karate Tournament in Pittsburgh at the Monroeville Convention Center May 24th-25th.

2013 Kumite Classic Sport Karate

The 2013 Kumite Classic is set for Friday-Saturday May 24-25th 2013 at the Monroeville/Pittsburgh Convention Center. The Open Martial Arts and Sport Karate Tournament is Pittsburgh’s largest event of its kind with competition for point sparring, continuous sparring, traditional kata (separate Japanese, Korean, Chinese & Kenpo), open forms, traditional weapons, open weapons, self-defesne, breaking, team demo, grappling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and more . Vendor booth for the expo are available on a first come first serve basis. The Kumite Classic is part of the NBL National Black Belt League Can-Am National Conference, a qualifier for the Super Grands World Games. Visit www.kumiteclassic.com or contact Bill Viola 724-861-5162 for more details.