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 The first coverage of Judo on English television appears to have been in 1956, starting with a demonstration by Fred Okimura and assistants on the "Vic Obeck Show", and then in an episode of the information program "Tabloid", titled "From foe to friend: Japanese culture in Canada". The episode covers several different elements of Japanese culture, and includes a Judo demonstration by Frank Hatashita and his daughter Patsy Yuriko Hatashita. Four other programs ("Around Town", "Graphic", "Hobby Corner", and "Spotlight") aired episodes that included Judo demonstrations or interviews with judoka from 1957–59. In 1971 the children's show "Alphabet Soup" ran