Rank in Judo are ranked in ascending numerical order. The ninth ("kudan") and tenth degree black belt ("jūdan") and, theoretically, those higher, have no formal requirements. Only 15 individuals have been promoted to the rank of Kōdōkan 10th dan. On January 6, 2006, three individuals were promoted to this rank simultaneously: Daigo Toshirō, Ichirō Abe, and Ōsawa Yoshimi. This is the most ever at the same time, and the first in 22 years. No one has ever been promoted to a rank higher than 10th "dan", but in theory the Judo rank system is not limited to 10 degrees of black belt. The
Judo in Canada Judo in Canada The Japanese martial art Judo has been practised in Canada for nearly a century. The first Judo dojo in Canada, "Tai Iku Dojo" (体育道場), was established in Vancouver in 1924 by Shigetaka "Steve" Sasaki. Sasaki and his students opened several branch schools in British Columbia up until 1940, when all dojos were shut down by the government and their Japanese members forced into internment camps due to fears that Japanese-Canadians would act against Canada on behalf of Japan during the Second World War. After the War was over, the government encouraged internees to relocate, and many of