What is Judo
Judo is a martial art founded by Jigoro Kano in 1882. Derived from jujitsu and practices of the Japanese Samurai, Kano developed judo as a way to better oneself in both mind and body. He removed many of the dangerous techniques and practices from hand to hand combat and fittingly the word judo can be translated to “The Gentle Way”.
Based out of the Eishoji Temple in Tokyo Japan, Kano named the first dojo the
Kodokan. While the dojo is nolonger housed by the Eishoji Temple, the Kodokan
is still operation today in the city of Tokyo welcoming judoka from around the world.
Judo is now practised in over 200 countries around the world, has been in the
Olympics since 1964 and is overseen by the International Judo Federation (IJF). An IJF Tour has been established with
tv production, including commentating by the world famous Neil Adams, that is free to access for every Grand Prix,
Grand Slam and World Championships.
Canadians have a long tradition and connection with judo as Kano himself visited the Steveston Dojo in British Columbia.
The 1964 Olympics produced an Olympic silver medal for BC’s Doug Rogers and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games saw the
first medals by Canadian women, Jessica Klimkait and Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard both taking bronze medals. Christa
Deguchi became the first Canadian Sr. World Champion in 2019 a feat that was repeated by Jessica Klimkait, in the same
weight category, in the 2021 World Championships.
Judo Canada is now headed by 2 time Olympic medalist and flag bearer for Canada at the Athens Olympic Games,
Nicolas Gill with newly appointed Head Coach and Olympic Medalist Antoine Valois-Fortier.
NWT Judo strives to increase the physical activity of people throughout the territory with Judo, and is dedicated to developing judoka from grassroots to high performance athletes. We work to provide a fun learning atmosphere both in the school system, specifically throughout the Dehcho District, as well as hubs in Yellowknife and Inuvik.
