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 judo are that judoka with visual impairments take hold of their opponent before the start of the match, and the mat has different textures to indicate zones and the competition area. Judo for the visually impaired has a long history in Canada and, according to a newspaper article published in 1952, Ottawa was the home of the only judo club for the blind in the world at the time. In most circumstances, however, visually impaired and sighted judoka belong to the same clubs and practice together. Canada was first represented in international competition by brothers Pier Morten and Eddie Morten