Category Archives: Team Kumite News

Team Kumite News

Norwin Ninjas Karate Honored

Norwin Ninjas (Sister Program of Allegheny Shotokan and Viola Karate) honored as top junior team at Kumite Classic!

Norwin Ninjas / Allegheny Shotokan Honored as Pittsburgh’s Top Ranked Team for 2017

North Huntingdon, PA – June 21, 2017

The Allegheny Shotokan Karate School was honored as the “Top Team” at the 2017 Kumite Classic martial arts championships held at the 18th Annual Pittsburgh Fitness Expo at the Monroeville Convention Center May 26-27th. The Kumite Classic is the region’s largest multi-sports convention, featuring over 100,000 square feet of competitions and participation from around the world.

100 students from the North Huntingdon, PA based Allegheny Shotokan Karate school and their sister program “Norwin Ninjas” competed at the tournament. The school brought home more top honors than any other school in North America.

The team is qualified to compete in Las Vegas, Nevada over the Fourth of July for the WAKO North American Championships, part of UFC International Fight Week at the MGM Grand.

The team is coached by Sensei Bill Viola Jr. and Shihan Bill Viola Sr. Allegheny Shotokan has been family owned and operated since 1969.   For more info visit www. Norwinninjas.com

Norwin Ninjas & Viola Karate on Front Page
Viola Karate on Front Page

 

www.norwinninjas.com
www.alleghenyshotokan.com

Hines Ward Show

bill viola jr

Hines Ward Show

Allegheny Shotokan and Kumite Classic represent Pittsburgh Karate on the Hines Ward Show. WPXI host Alby Oxenreiter, Brett Keisel and Hines were on hand for the program that features Positive Athletes in Pittsburgh.  PKRA Karate Champion Connor Burns, NBL World Champion Dominic Leader, and Coach Bill Viola all represented sport karate and martial arts. Hines was able to learn some karate on air, and warned the Baltimore Ravens to watch out!

Hines Ward demonstrates his best front snap kick and kiai!

pittsburgh karate

Here’s a clip from behind the scenes on the Hines Ward show on youtube:

The demonstration included Hines learning to block a roundhouse kick and counter with a reverse punch. Connor Burns was interviewed by Hines for his community service and taking time out to mentor younger kids. He emphasized self-discipline and the confidence that karate instills. Team Kumite sported the custom kumite classic black & yellow all star gear gloves. Yeah, Champions bleed black & gold! The team is based in North Huntington Irwin, PA. Dominic Leader was the first recipient of the Western PA Positive Athlete award for martial arts last year and continues the tradition of team kumite with the program!

From dancing with the stars, football and even karate, Hines ward is a true sport and great role model! Visit his website http://www.positiveathlete.org/

A Spooktacular Day

Congrats for winning the karate competition and the costume contest!  Sara Russell won 1st place in sparring and won the most “Spooktacular Costume” award.

The 2011 Spooktacular Martial Arts Championship was held October 22nd, in Millersburg, Ohio. The karate event was sanctioned by the National Black Belt League…showcasing competitors from across the East Coast, including Team Kumite who represents the Pittsburgh area.

Representing the Allegheny Shotokan Karate School and Team Kumite of North Huntingdon were Hope Chase (1st place 11-12 year old Jr. Black Belt)  Bess Chase (1st place 9-10 year old Jr. Black Belt) Bridgit Chase (1st Place 13-14 year old Jr. Black Belt)  Luke Lokay (1st place 8-9 year old novice)  Nick Kosan (3rd place 12-13 year old advanced boys), Cameron Klos (2nd As best online casino the UK’s number 1 credit repair companies reference agency ?, you can be confident of accurate, useful information when you choose the Experian CreditExpert service. place 10-11 year old advanced boys), Sara Russell (1st place 10-11 year old girls),  Gabriel Anthony (1st place 8-9 year old novice), Colton Wobrak 4th place six & under beginners), Liz Leaseburg (2nd Place 11-12 girls novice).

The Spooktacular was casino online the last opportunity for competitors to gain a seed into the 2011 Sport Karate Nain yleisarvosana voisi sanoa, etta kaikki netin pelivalmistajat (NetEnt, Microgaming, CMTX, Evolution Gaming ja Playtech) valmistavat sangen tasalaatuisia rulettipeleja . World Games. Norwin Senior, Dominic Leader, is the defending 2010 World Champion for the continuous contact and the only World Champion from Western Pennsylvania last year.  Earning acceptance to compete and join Leader at the World Games are Bess, Hope, and Bridgit Chase.

The team will complete it’s season by attending the annual Laurel State Karate Championships held December 10th at the White Oak Athletic Association. The event, sanctioned by the Pennsylvania Karate Rating Association, is recognized as the oldest running karate championship in the Central Westmoreland area, showcasing the region’s top talent for over 30 years.

Congrats Dominic Leader

Team Kumite Member Dominic Leader was recently crowned 2011 Norwin Homecoming King. Congrats.

Only a handful of Western Pennsylvania athletes have claimed a sport karate world title.

Norwin junior Dominic Leader not only claimed his first world title, but he did so with an undefeated record.

Leader won every match at every competition for the 2010 season, cumulating with a sweep of his division at the 2010 World Games in Sacramento, Calif., over the winter break.

The games are the equivalent to the Super Bowl for martial arts, with more than 2,000 world-class athletes from across North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Europe battling for world titles.

Leader has excelled over the past few seasons in a competitive division, but 2010 was the year he made history. The 165-pound weight class continuous sparring championship is a modified version of kickboxing that requires an extreme amount of endurance casino online and physical toughness.

Leader defeated contenders from Canada, Mexico and U.S. leading up to his World Games bouts.  In the semifinals, he faced the highly favored Juan Pablo Santiago of Guatemala, the reigning world champion.

In 2009, Leader lost to Santiago in the finals. Four inches taller and visibly stronger, Leader overwhelmed his rival and unleashed an offensive attack to win by a unanimous decision and advance to the double-elimination finals.

During the finals, he faced Curtis Fresh of El Paso, Texas.  After four rounds, Leader was named world champion and brought home Pittsburgh”s only world title in 2010.

“I couldn”t have done it without my training partner and older brother, Billy,” the champion said.

Billy Leader also earned a spot in the World Games finals, only to be hampered by injuries that have plagued him throughout the season. He was not medically cleared to finish the final fight and was awarded second place in the 143-pound weight class.

The Leader brothers are coached by Bill Viola, head instructor at Allegheny Shotokan Karate and Norwin Ninjas in North Huntingdon.

Dominic Leader joins an exclusive list of NBL Karate World Champions from Pittsburgh that includes Ali Viola, Jose Rivera and Terrence Tubio.

All of the former champions are teammates of Leader, making Team Kumite the only NBL World Champions in the region”s history.

Mon Valley Champs

The 2011 Mon Valley Open Martial Arts Championships was held September 17th at the Joe Montana Gymnasium, Charleroi, PA.  The karate event was sanctioned by the Professional Karate Commission and showcased competitors from the tri-state area.

Representing the Allegheny Shotokan Karate School of North Huntingdon were Nick Kosan (1st place 12-13 year old advanced boys), Cameron Klos (1st place 10-11 year old advanced boys), Sara Russell (1st place 10-11 year old girls), Rachael Bartuska (1st place 12-13 advanced girls), Gabriel Anthony (1st place 8-9 year old advanced), Luke Lokay (2nd place 8-9 year old advanced), Liz Leaseburg (1st Place 11-12 girls novice).  The team will travel to Millersburg, Ohio next month to compete in the National Black Belt League’s Spooktacular Marital Arts Championship.  The NBL sponsors the Sport Karate World Games held in Sacramento California.