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 (brown belt). Later, when he travelled to Japan as Prime Minister, he was promoted to "sho-dan" (first-degree black belt) by the Kodokan, and then promoted to "ni-dan" (second-degree black belt) by Masao Takahashi in Ottawa before leaving office. Trudeau began the night of his famous 'walk in the snow' before announcing his retirement in 1984 by going to Judo with his sons. Other Canadian politicians and their families have also been associated with Judo. The children of Trudeau's successor in office, Brian Mulroney, also practised at the Takahashi Dojo, and Judo Canada has presented two honorary black belts to Members