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 of Parliament: Minister of Health and Welfare Judy LaMarsh at the Eastern Canada Championships in 1964, and former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker at the Senior Women and Junior National Championships in 1979. 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