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The Japanese martial art and combat sport judo has been practised in Canada for over a century. The first long-term judo dojo in Canada, Tai Iku Dojo, was established by a Japanese immigrant named Shigetaka "Steve" Sasaki in Vancouver in 1924. Sasaki and his students opened several branch schools in British Columbia and even trained RCMP officers until 1942, when Japanese Canadians were expelled from the Pacific coast and either interned or forced to move elsewhere in Canada due to fears that they were a threat to the country after Japan entered the Second World War. When the war was over, the government gave interned Japanese Canadians two options: resettle in Canada outside of British Columbia or emigrate to Japan.
Masao Takahashi was a Canadian judoka, author, coach, and founder of the Takahashi School of Martial Arts in Ottawa, Ontario. He was involved in judo for more than 70 years, and was ranked hachi-dan, making him one of the highest ranked Canadian judoka. In 2002 he was decorated by the Emperor of Japan with the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette, in recognition of his service to improving the status of Japanese Canadians through his lifelong commitment to the promotion and development of Judo in Canada. He was inducted into the Judo Canada Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2005 Takahashi co-authored a book, Mastering Judo, with his family.
Yoshio "John" Katsuta was a Japanese-Canadian judoka born in Okayama, Japan who founded Alberta's first Judo dojo in Raymond, Alberta in 1943, and was the first president of the Alberta Black Belt Association, founded in 1952. Katsuta was ranked roku-dan and was the recipient of many honours and awards for his service to the community and promotion of Judo in Canada. He received the Canadian Centennial Medal in 1967 and the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal in 1992, was awarded the Hokkaido Cup from the Governor of Japan in 1987, and was posthumously recognized with an Alberta Centennial Salute to Sport and Recreation Award in 2005. Katsuta was also inducted into the Raymond Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2008, made a lifetime member of Judo Canada in 1983, and inducted into its Hall of Fame in 1996.
Shigetaka "Steve" Sasaki was a Japanese and Canadian judoka who founded the first judo club in Canada and is considered the 'Father of Canadian Judo'. After establishing the Tai Iku Dojo in Vancouver in 1924, Sasaki and his students opened several branch schools in British Columbia. In 1941, however, all dojos were shut down by the government and their Japanese members forced into internment camps due to fears that Japanese-Canadians would act against Canada on behalf of Japan during the Second World War. After the War was over, the government encouraged internees to relocate, and many of Sasaski's students went on to establish their own dojos across Canada. Sasaki was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1986 as a 'builder'.
Yoshio Senda was a Canadian judoka, Member of the Order of Canada, Canada's first kudan in Judo, and founder of the Lethbridge Kyodokan Judo Club.
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Goki Uemura is a Canadian judoka who represented Canada in the 1973 World Judo Championships in the -70 kg category. He is one of just seventeen Canadian judoka to achieve the rank of hachidan and co-founded the Shin Bu Kan Judo Club in Etobicoke, Ontario in 1982, which later relocated in Mississauga, Ontario and is now also known as the Mississauga Judo Club.
The Japanese martial art judo has been practised in Yukon, Canada since at least 1950.
Carl "Dutchie" Schell was a Canadian judoka who played a significant role in the development of judo in Canada, especially New Brunswick. Schell established the first judo club in New Brunswick at the Saint John YMCA in 1958, then co-founded the Shimpokai Judo Club with Harry Thomas, John Crawford, Doug Kearns, and Ken Meeting in Saint John in 1959. He also founded the New Brunswick Kodokan Black Belt Assocation in 1961, served as its President and in other executive roles, served as Atlantic vice-president of Judo Canada, and coached the New Brunswick judo team. Schell was inducted into the Saint John Sports Hall of Fame in 2000, the Judo Canada Hall of Fame in 2003, and the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
Glynn Arthur Leyshon was a Canadian wrestler and university professor who played a significant role in the development of wrestling in Canada. As a wrestler himself, Leyshon won the Ontario–Quebec University Wrestling Championships in 1953 and 1954, but his most noteworthy contributions to wrestling are in organizing and coaching. He organized and established rules for high school wrestling in Ontario, founded the London–Western Wrestling Club, co-founded the Ontario Wrestling Officials Association, founded and served as President of the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association, and was the Athletic Director of the University of Western Ontario. Leyshon also coached Western's wrestling team from 1964–1980 and the Canadian national wrestling team from 1966–80. He was meant to be 1976 Olympic coach but was unable to accept the role because he could not secure a leave of absence from his university position in time, and was named the 1980 Olympic coach but Canada boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. Leyshon is a member of the Western Mustangs Sports Hall of Fame, the London Sports Hall of Fame, and the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame.
The Japanese martial art and combat sport judo has been practised in the Canadian province of British Columbia since the early 1900s, and it was the only place in the country where judo was practised prior to the Second World War. The first long-term judo dojo in Canada, Tai Iku Dojo, was established by a Japanese immigrant named Shigetaka "Steve" Sasaki in Vancouver in 1924. Sasaki and his students opened several branch schools in British Columbia and even trained RCMP officers until 1942, when Japanese Canadians were expelled from the Pacific coast and either interned or forced to move elsewhere in Canada due to fears that they were a threat to the country after Japan entered the Second World War. When the war was over, the government gave interned Japanese Canadians two options: resettle in Canada outside of British Columbia or emigrate to Japan. Some returned to the Pacific coast after 1949, but most found new homes in other provinces. Those that did return, many of whom were fishermen, worked hard to rebuild the community that they had lost, and today there are about 50 judo clubs throughout the province.
The Japanese martial art and combat sport judo has been practised in the Canadian province of New Brunswick since 1955.
The Japanese martial art and combat sport judo has been practised in the Canadian province of Ontario since 1942.
The Japanese martial art and combat sport judo has been practised in the Canadian province of Quebec since 1946.
References
- ↑ Gill, Nicolas; Leyshon, Glynn (2019). Judoka: The History of Judo in Canada (Second ed.). Montreal: Marcel Broquet. pp. 37–39. ISBN 978-2-89726-352-2.
- ↑ Senda, Jane (2004). Kyodokan: the Story of the Kyodokan Judo Club and the Founder, Dr. Yoshio Senda. Lethbridge, Alberta: Lethbridge Kyodokan Judo Club. pp. 15–17. ISBN 0973582901.
- 1 2 "A Brief History of Judo in Lethbridge". Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ↑ "History of the Tokugawa Judo Club". Tokugawa Judo Club. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ↑ Senda, Jane (2004). Kyodokan: the Story of the Kyodokan Judo Club and the Founder, Dr. Yoshio Senda. Lethbridge, Alberta: Lethbridge Kyodokan Judo Club. p. 21. ISBN 0973582901.
- ↑ Lethbridge Historical Society (20 January 2015). "Lethbridge YMCA". Facebook. Retrieved 6 July 2021.