Judo in Canada Canada there are six "kyū" grades for seniors (people 16 years of age or older), eleven "kyū" grades for juniors (people under the age of 16), and ten "dan" grades that are restricted to seniors. Both senior and junior students begin as white belts ("rokkyū") and progress with promotion through yellow, orange, green, and blue, to brown belt ("ikkyū"). Half-grades for juniors were introduced in 2010 and are represented by belts that combine the colours of the previous grade and the next grade (a white and yellow belt, for example, represents a half-grade between "rokkyū" and "gokyū", which the grading
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