Judo in Canada Sasaki's students went on to establish their own dojos across Canada. The Canadian Kodokan Black Belt Association was incorporated in 1956 and recognized by the International Judo Federation in 1958. Now known as Judo Canada, it is the national governing body and a federation of associations in each of the ten provinces and three territories. Today, an estimated 30,000 Canadians participate in Judo programs in approximately 400 clubs across Canada. Judo uses a hierarchical ranking system divided into "kyū" and "dan" grades that its founder, Jigoro Kano, adapted from the ranking system for the traditional board game Go. "Kyū" grades
Judo in Canada Mehmedovic, who competed in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Musician Mark Kasprzyk, who previously went by the stage name 'Kazzer', was an alternate for Canada's 2000 Olympic Judo team. In the video for his best known song as Kazzer, "Pedal to the Metal" (2002), Kasprzyk confronts a bully (played by Sebastian Pawlak, also a judo fighter) and disables him using the Judo throw "ippon seoi nage". He now goes by 'Kaz' and is the front man for the group Redlight King, best known for a song titled "Old Man" (2011) that samples fellow Canadian Neil Young's song by the same