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Bill Viola Jr. is a bestselling author, film producer, and "Sensei." He is creator of CommonSensei® life skills book series and Sensei Says® curriculum. Viola Jr. is President of Kumite Classic Entertainment (1999) based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania which owns and operates Allegheny Shotokan Karate (1969).
Viola was a University Scholar and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Pittsburgh in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in Political Science. He moved to the West Coast and settled in Studio City, California to gain hands-on experience in the entertainment and film industry. He was accepted into the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio and established his own company, Kumite Classic Entertainment (KCE). He gained notoriety from his role in the Britney Spears video Stronger (2000) and was able to network and build relationships with leading directors and producers.
His company's signature event, the self-titled "Kumite Classic," is regarded as the most significant karate event in Pittsburgh widely called the mecca for martial arts in the region . KCE also produced the annual Pittsburgh Fitness Expo, recognized as the largest and most established multi-sport convention in Western Pennsylvania attracting sports and entertainment icons such as Kurt Angle, Lynn Swann, Franco Harris, Antonio Brown, Ice-T, and Royce Gracie over the years. Viola has served as a consultant, referee, and event coordinator for some of the largest martial arts events in the world. In 2017 he brokered a partnership with Century Martial Arts and WAKO to produce the North American Open in Las Vegas, Nevada in conjunction with UFC Fight Week.
Viola experienced the "Golden Era" of MMA firsthand as his father, Bill Sr., is credited as the co-creator of the sport (a decade before the UFC) by the Heinz History Center, in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institute. In 2011, Viola's research and documentation of martial arts was honored with a permanent exhibit installed at the Western PA Sports Museum and Senator John Heinz History Center. The display is adjacent to the Franco Harris "Immaculate Reception." Jr. and Sr. are both official Sport Karate History Generals and recipients of the Sport Karate Museum's "Lifetime Achievement" award. The duo was awarded the Champion Associations Willie Stargell M.V.P. Award (2011) for community service, a tribute that includes Michael Jordan and Muhamad Ali as alum. In 2017 the Viola's were published in the book, Who's Who in the Martial Arts - Legends of American Karate. The dojo is home to the only karate athlete's honored with the "Positive Athlete" award and featured on KDKA's Hines Ward Show. In 2016 his work was honored by Pittsburgh Magazine who named him to the prestigious "40 under 40" list recognizing influential young leaders in the city.
Bill Viola was introduced to Martial Arts (Shotokan Karate) by his father William Viola, founder of Allegheny Shotokan Karate. His lessons began in the 1970s when he was just a toddler. He began a two-and-a-half years old. As a youth Viola was one of the most well rounded and consistent and competitors in the country recognized as a USA Karate Federation (USAKF) Jr. Olympic champion. As an adult, he was recognized as a 5x USA Karate National Champion and All-American Athlete. Viola was the only adult black belt triple gold medalist (Kata, -65 Kg Kumite, Kobudo) at the 1997 USAKF National Championships in Akron, Ohio. In the summer of 1999, Viola was involved in an unfortunate automobile accident on US Route 30 in North Huntingdon, PA. He sustained a serious cervical neck fracture injury that effectively ended his competitive karate career (1981-1999). -Tribune Review Westmoreland Sports August 15, 1999 page 6.
Bill Viola Jr. is an award-winning journalist and blogger whose bylines include Black Belt Magazine, Martial Arts Success, Sport Karate Magazine, Shotokan Magazine and Sport Karate Illustrated. He is the senior writer for mmahistory.org. He founded and established Kumite Quarterly magazine (2003-2007) where he served as publisher and managed distribution throughout North America. In 2016, he co-authored Go Ask Your Dad, an inspirational book about fatherhood which debuted on the Amazon best-sellers list.
He authored the award-winning and critically acclaimed Godfathers of MMA (2014) that peaked at #1 on the Amazon charts in the individual sports category with its commemorative re-release (2017). The book which as based on his father's life and inspired the Showtime documentary film, Tough Guys (2017). Viola co-produced the project which attracted a star studded lineup of executive producers from MinusL productions including Academy Award® Nominated Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me) and Oscar® winning writer Ross Kaufmann (Born in Brothels). Viola a made a cameo playing his father. His work includes developing the screenplay for a major motion picture adaptation of Tough Guys. He has been contracted as an independent consultant for major motion pictures including Warrior (2011) with his good friend Jimmy Cvetic and has credits as a associate producer, producer, and executive producer for films such as Tapped Out (2014), Gridlocked (2015), The Sound (2017). Viola has served as a talent judge and promo coordinator for Sony Pictures Entertainment. He acted as a consultant for the motion picture Warrior, a mixed martial arts movie filmed in Pittsburgh (released September, 2011 by Lionsgate). Viola teamed up with longtime associate Jim Cvetic (Western PA Police Athletic League) to help organize major scenes for the production.
In 2018 Viola's daughter Gabby was diagnosed with Indeterminate bowel disease, an incurable inflammatory form of colitis. In 2020 the two became advocates for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation. They joined the national effort to raise awareness for the disease. Today they lobby for a cure by meeting with legislators, congressman, and senators to help fund research and improve health care.
His latest project, CommonSensei, is a self-help (how to) book series aimed at teaching life skills.
