Kumite Classic Entertainment (KCE) is a

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

based sports production company. It was established in 1999 by

Bill Viola Jr William Viola Jr. (born April 9, 1977) is an international martial arts champion, promoter and author. He is the producer and founder of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based Kumite Classic.Kelly, Jack (April 16, 2007)“Festival puts emphasis on ...

. KCE specializes in fitness, martial arts, and multi-sport competitions.

The Kumite Classic

“

Kumite Kumite (, literally "grappling hands") is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which a person trains against an adversary. Kumite can be used to develop a particular tec ...

” is a Japanese term meaning “fighting.” The company's flagship event, the “Kumite Classic,” is an annual series of

combat sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knocko ...

tournaments, widely recognized as a hub for

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

in the Pittsburgh area.Love, Mike (May 20, 2012)
“Fitness and martial-arts enthusiasts pack Monroeville Convention Center for Kumite Classic”
Tribune-Review. The Kumite Classic includes diverse competitions such as strongman, powerlifting, bodybuilding, fitness, figure, and model contests. It also features traditional and open tournaments in

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

tae kwon do Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In a ...

tang soo do Tang Soo Do (; ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean martial art based on karate which can include fighting principles from taekkyeon, subak, as well as northern Chinese martial arts. From its beginnings in 1944 to today, Tang Soo Do is used by ...

kung fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and

Grappling Grappling is a fighting technique based on throws, trips, sweeps, clinch fighting, ground fighting and submission holds. Grappling contests often involve takedowns and ground control, and may end when a contestant concedes defeat. Shou ...

.Love, Michael (May 19, 2015)
“Pittsburgh Fitness Expo returning to Monroeville”
Tribune-Review. Prominent figures from martial arts and sports, including

Royce Gracie Royce Gracie (; born 12 December 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist. Gracie gained fame for his success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a member of the Gracie jiu-jitsu family, a UFC Hall of Famer ...

Franco Harris Franco Dok Harris (March 7, 1950 – December 20, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a fullback for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football fo ...

Antonio Brown Antonio Tavaris Brown Sr. (born July 10, 1988), nicknamed "AB", is an American former professional American football, football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. During his first nine seasons with t ...

Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former professional football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He ...

Ice-T Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958), known professionally as Ice-T (or Ice T), is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop music, hip hop and heavy metal music, heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground r ...

, and

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...

, have graced the Kumite Classic. Angle’s “Ultimate Teen Challenge,” a strength competition, debuted at the 2005 Kumite Classic and later expanded to the

Arnold Sports Festival The IFBB Pro Arnold Sports Festival, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival, is an annual multi-sport event consisting of professional bodybuilding (''Arnold Classic''), strongman (''Arnold Strongman Classic''), armlifting, fi ...

. In 2016, Kumite Classic Entertainment acquired ownership of

Allegheny Shotokan Karate Allegheny Shotokan Karate is a Western Pennsylvania-based martial arts school established in 1969 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The dojo was founded by Bill Viola Sr., who the Heinz History Center references as a co-creator of the modern sport of ...

Pittsburgh Fitness Expo

Kumite Classic hosts the annual Pittsburgh Fitness Expo, a full scale consumer convention that promotes health and wellness in the

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the Unite ...

region. The expo is held at the Monroeville Convention Center over Memorial Day Weekend.

Publishing

In 2013, the company established Kumite Classic Press and released '' Godfathers of MMA'', a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

non-fiction book inspired by the life of Bill Viola Sr. and the rise and fall of CV Productions and the Tough Guy Contest. The book is the subject of the documentary film ''

Tough Guys ''Tough Guys'' is a 1986 American action comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Eli Wallach, Charles Durning, Dana Carvey, and Darlanne Fluegel. It is the eighth film of Touchstone Pictures, and the fina ...

'' (2017) produced by MinusL Inc. Kumite Classic published a commemorative edition of Godfather's of MMA retitled Tough Guys (2017) which peaked at #1 on the Amazon best sellers list in the individual sports category. The launch was synchronized with the network television debut of Tough Guys on Showtime.

Published works

*Viola Jr., Bill (2014). Godfathers of MMA: The Birth of an American Sport. Kumite Classic Entertainment. *Viola Jr., Bill (2016). Go Ask Your Dad: Questions, Answers, and Stories about Fathers, Fatherhood, and Being a Parent (Volume 1). Kumite Classic Entertainment. *Viola Jr., Bill (2017).

. Kumite Classic Entertainment. *Viola Jr., Bill (2020). CommonSensei: Sensei Says. Kumite Classic Entertainment. *Viola Jr., Bill (2020). CommonSensei: Goal Pagoda. Kumite Classic Entertainment.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official WebsitePittsburgh Fitness Expo
Sports organizations established in 1999 Martial arts competitions Recurring sporting events established in 1999 Multi-sport events 1999 establishments in Pennsylvania