Judo
made its first appearance in Alberta in 1943 with the establishment of the
Raymond Judo Club under the direction of yoshio Katsuta.
The sport has grown to the point where today there are 32
registered clubs operating in the Province.
The first club in Calgary was established in 1957 by Mr. Hiro
Kanashiro. Since becoming
established, the Club has continuously operated and has had five
locations. These were:
8th Avenue where the Glenbow Museum now stands, 10th street N.W at
3rd Avenue, Mount Royal College, at the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community
Centre on 5th Avenue at 14th Street N.W. and finally at the present Dojo
2323 - 32 Avenue N.E.
Mr.
Kanashiro was one of those rare persons who devoted most of his spare time
to the development of young athletes.
His way of doing this was the sport of Judo.
Countless hours were spent teaching the sport, coaching and
officiation at tournaments, and
travelling with teams to other provinces and to the United States.
All of this was done without compensation, as the fees charged were
simply designed to pay the Clubs operating expenses.
Unfortunately for those of us who knew him, Mr. Kanashiro passed
away in January of 1986. The
Club continues to flourish in his absence, no doubt due to the spirit of
giving and moral character that he instilled in his students.
Many
people think of Judo as self defence tricks, police tactics or mysterious
holds. It is none of these.
Judo is a sport developed from the ancient martial arts that
combines throwing and grappling. Dangerous
techniques have been eliminated. The
result is an exciting sport and a practical method of self defence, and
results in the ability to practice the martial art safely.
The goals of the sport are physical, mental and moral development
of the individual. This
development allows the individual to do his/her best and thereby
contribute to the betterment of society as a whole.
Judo is a club level sport requiring certain specialized equipment and a training facility known as a "dojo". This term may be loosely translated from the Japanese language to “training hall”. Our facility is located at 2323 - 32 Avenue N.E and of a shock absorbing sub floor which supports 108 (2m x 1m)Judo mats as well as change and shower facilities.
The
Club is part of a training pyramid that includes a City Championship,
Provincial, Western Canada and National Championships, Pan American,
Pacific Rim, World and Olympic Championships.
The City of Calgary was in the spotlight in March of 1993, when we
hosted, for the first time, the Canadian National Junior
Judo Championship. It
was in the spotlight again when we hosted the same event in 1996.
