The Japanese martial art and combat sport

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

has been practised in the

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Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

since 1946.

History

Judo was introduced to Canada in the early twentieth century by Japanese

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, and was limited to

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until the forced expulsion, internment, and resettlement of Japanese-Canadians after Japan entered the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1941. Japanese Canadian expulsion and internment was pivotal in the development of Canadian judo because it forced judoka to settle in other parts of the country. Some returned to the Pacific coast after 1949, but most found new homes in other provinces. New dojos opened in the

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, and

, primarily in the mid-to-late 1940s, and the centre of Canadian judo shifted from Vancouver to

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, where a significant number of judoka had settled after the war. Many early dojos were housed at the local branch of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, which also provided short-term accommodation, assisted with finding employment, and coordinated social programs for resettled Japanese Canadians. Clubs at

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barracks, and

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were also common. Hideo "Harold" Tokairin and Yutaka "Fred" Okimura moved from British Columbia to

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after the war and started the YMCA Judo Club in 1946. Okimura also established the

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Judo Club at the request of the Department of Athletics in 1950, making it the first organized university judo club in Canada. In 1952 Kametaro Akiyama, Okimura, and Tokairin opened the Seidokwan Academy of Judo on Rachel Street in a recreation centre un by the local

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. It was the first long-term community dojo in Montreal, was sponsored by many of the city's Japanese Canadians, and provided most of the instructors for the McGill club. Seidokwan changed locations several times over the years, but did not close its doors permanently until 2019.

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judoka Marc Scala operated several dojos in Montreal in the early 1950s; the one located at 1423 Drummond Street went by the names "Canadian Academy of Judo" in 1953 and "North American Academy of Judo" in 1954, and was likely associated with the Downtown YMCA, which is directly adjacent to this address. Outside of Montreal,

Bernard Gauthier Bernard Gauthier (22 September 1924 – 23 November 2018) was a French road racing cyclist, who was professional from 1947 to 1961. He won the Bordeaux–Paris road race on four occasions. Major results ;1947 :Circuit Lyonnais :Tour de France ...

began teaching judo and jujitsu in

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and the surrounding area in the late 1940s, and established the Kano Judo Club in

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in or . He also taught judo across the

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at the YMCA, the

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, and

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

. The number or judo clubs increased significantly during the 1960s, in large part due to Raymond Damblant who played a role similar to

Shigetaka Sasaki Shigetaka "Steve" Sasaki (佐々木繁孝, 20 March 1903 – 26 February 1993) was a Japanese people, Japanese and Canadians, Canadian judoka who founded the first judo club in Canada and is considered the 'Father of Judo in Canada, Canadian Judo ...

in British Columbia during the pre-war period. Damblant moved from

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to Montreal in 1959 to help promote judo in the province on behalf of the

French Judo Federation French Judo Federation (, is the sports association that aims to promote the practice of Judo and related disciplines composed of Jujutsu, Kendo, Iaido, Sport Chanbara, Jōdō, Naginata and Sumo. History Created on December 5, 1946 under the n ...

. He began travelling around Quebec's regions to provide instruction and help organize local judo associations, and he consolidated the provincial administration of judo by reorganizing the Quebec Kodokan Judo Black Belt Association in 1966 and serving as its first President. When Damblant first arrived in Quebec there were only 10 dojos, and he is credited with spearheading the infrastructure that led to about 120 clubs and 10,000 judoka in Quebec today.

History

See also

References

Further reading