I’ll Be Back…

Pittsburgh Martial Artist Teams Up With Arnold Schwarzenegger — Again

It took nearly 30 years, but Pittsburgh martial arts promoter Bill Viola Jr. reunited with Arnold Schwarzenegger this weekend.  The Arnold Sports Festival took place in Columbus, Ohio February 29-3^rd, featuring over 20,000 athletes from 80+ nations in world class competitions.  Over the past three decades, the Arnold Sports Festival has evolved into the world’s largest multi-sport competition and expo.  Pittsburgh native, Sensei Bill Viola Jr., has been there since martial arts was introduced in the 1990s, and this year things came full circle. 

Viola was a director for Combat Sports at this year’s festival, overseeing some of the top sport karate athletes in America. A group of athletes from his Pittsburgh dojo (Team Kumite) traveled to compete, including his son (Will), daughter (Gabby) who both took top honors in their divisions.  However, it was a 22-year old graduate from Saint Vincent College who stole the show.  Klos, one of Viola’s most promising black belts, was able to win the Overall Grand Championship in kata (forms) and kumite (sparring), a feat that earned him a one-on-on live performance, just for Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Klos says, “I never dreamed that Arnold would be my personal judge. The entire place stopped, and all eyes and cameras were on me. It was surreal.”  Arnold called Cameron, “A true champion and inspiration to youth.”

It was déjà vu for Sensei Bill who had a similar encounter with Arnold over 25 years ago. In 1997, Allegheny Shotokan was one of 20 teams from around the world invited to the expo to perform:

In 1998, Bill Viola lead Allegheny Shotokan to victory at the Arnold Fitness Festival.

In 1998, Viola was honored by Arnold Schwarzenegger after the Allegheny Shotokan Karate competition team was honored as #1 in the United States.  His team performed on the Veteran’s Memorial Stage in Columbus, Ohio for Schwarzenegger. 

Back stage, Viola expressed his dream to bring a similar concept to Pittsburgh, and Arnold encouraged him to create his own production company, “Kumite Classic Entertainment,” in 1999. Viola writes about this experience in his bestselling book “CommonSensei,” a life skills memoir he wrote last year.  

For the next two decades Viola’s Kumite Classic and Pittsburgh Fitness Expo would be the largest multi-sport convention in Western Pennsylvania hosting over 100,000 square feet of action sports at the Monroeville Expo Mart, Monroeville Convention Center, and the Downtown Hilton (now Wyndham Grand).  The Kumite became the mecca for martial arts and a who’s who guest list of Olympians and professional athletes showcasing everyone from Lynn Swann and Franco Harris to Kurt Angle and Royce Gracie.

2024 Arnold Sports Festival – Combat Sports:

Viola was recently appointed Chairman of WAKO USA Tatami and is currently in negotiations to bring USA Kickboxing to the Arnold Sports Festival in 2025.  It is the only U.S. organization in the sport of kickboxing to have IOC (International Olympic Committee) & AOC (American Olympic Committee) recognition. The athletes compete at the highest of levels, qualifying in our National Championship Tournaments to earn their spots on the team to compete internationally at the Pan-American Championships, World Games and the World Combat Games. WAKO USA serves as the gateway to the Olympics. The World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) the National Governing Body for the sport under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee. 

Allegheny Shotokan Viola Karate Dojo has served the Pittsburgh region since 1969.  

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