Forging a Path for Half a Century

THIS WAS THE GOLDEN ERA OF karate, and those who wore a crisp white gi and a black belt had a special swagger. The martial arts were provocative and mysterious, and if you wanted to learn their secrets, Bill Viola was your man. Unbeknownst to him, the Viola name and Pittsburgh karate would soon resonate throughout the region.

VIOLA WAS A NO-NONSENSE disciplinarian who lived the mantra, “The more you sweat in here, the less you bleed out there.” With this philosophy of intensity, he trained thousands in the art of self-protection. Over the ensuing half century, his powerful brand of punches and kicks camouflaged life’s