Judo in Toronto?

[lpreso82]

Hello Everyone

I want to take up Judo for the first time ever, I am nearly 30, out of shape, tall lanky type of build lol.....Anyways im having a hard time finding some Judo gyms to check out. About my goals. Im not looking to ever compete and sadly at this point Im looking for a group that might be slightly older so that I can take my time as I need to really work on my flexibility and I know im going to get banged around.

One place I have found of interest is Ronin judo in Kensington market area.....seems like a laid back club. At this point im not interested in any MMA type gyms that may offer judo. If anyone has any suggestions id love to hear them.

Thanks

[csrichie]

I'm not too familiar with Judo in the downtown areas. I've heard good things about Judo at JCCC (http://www.jccc.on.ca/) in north york. They have beginner Judo program where they teach you the fundamentals before moving on, however you would need to be enrolled at the beginning of their season.

If money isn't an concern, you could try torontobjj. The price is quite expensive (180$ a month comparing to 300$ a year for judo), however there is less risk of injury - most injury comes from being take downs than from joint locks and chokes. Torotobjj does over a 1 month free trial, so you could give that a try.

Just a note that there might be some catch with the 1 month free trial deal, never the less couching and environment there is great from what I've heard.

If you are looking for somewhere more towards the East, salvosa's BJJ is the current gym that i'm training with. The owner is a great guy. It's 120$ a month, which is the lowest price for quality BJJ in Toronto and he doesn't tie you down with a contract. The environment is great, and there are a lot of beginners as well as people who are highly dedicated.

[obernewtyn]

There's a Judo Club in Kensington Market? Where exact? I thought Ronin is elsewhere.

I've been wanting to get into Judo in downtown but haven't found the right environment for beginners.

In my opinion, BJJ is an alternative but Judo is more street.

[nauru]

Not sure how many -if any- proper judo clubs in Toronto are as cheap as $300 per year including taxes. I suggest being prepared to see prices between $500 and $750 per year including taxes, possibly a bit higher at some places... but if you find something cheaper please post it here!

What location is ideal for you, and how much do you weigh? I know a thin guy (60kg) who goes to Ronin. You might want to check Ronin's address, seems to be very far away from Kensington Market. If you are pretty light (as I am) you may find it's better to train with younger people (teens and 20s) because there are more light young people than light 30+ people; a lot of people over 30 tend to be heavy or very heavy, partly from doing lots of weights without much running, partly from sitting on butt in office job. Ideally you want to be at a club which has lots of people who are the same weight as you.

And how did you decide on judo, of all sports, as the way to get in shape? Not that there's anything wrong with this, I also do judo; but I'm always curious about people's reasons since it's pretty much never advertised or promoted in Canada, nor is it glorified/glamourized in North American media.

[obernewtyn]

Not sure how many -if any- proper judo clubs in Toronto are as cheap as $300 per year including taxes. I suggest being prepared to see prices between $500 and $750 per year including taxes, possibly a bit higher at some places... but if you find something cheaper please post it here!

What location is ideal for you, and how much do you weigh? I know a thin guy (60kg) who goes to Ronin. You might want to check Ronin's address, seems to be very far away from Kensington Market. If you are pretty light (as I am) you may find it's better to train with younger people (teens and 20s) because there are more light young people than light 30+ people; a lot of people over 30 tend to be heavy or very heavy, partly from doing lots of weights without much running, partly from sitting on butt in office job. Ideally you want to be at a club which has lots of people who are the same weight as you.

And how did you decide on judo, of all sports, as the way to get in shape? Not that there's anything wrong with this, I also do judo; but I'm always curious about people's reasons since it's pretty much never advertised or promoted in Canada, nor is it glorified/glamourized in North American media.

I don't mind training with younger people as long as there are people around my size to train with.

I've done some research and I don't think you can fake judo, there's no way around it but to go one on one with someone in order to learn the take downs and joint locks.

Where do you train?

[telman]

I hope you did a search in this forum, some info there.

[ippon]

Ronin is pretty laid back i heard. i've never been there, but i've trained with elmer a couple of times before and know people who's gone there. it's been described to me as a place where the grateful dead meets judo. they also do sumo there sometimes. elmer is big on sumo. and big. real big.

how far are you willing to travel?
i know quite a few judo places in toronto. if you tell me your intersection, i might be able to guide you somewhere.

[nauru]

Ronin is pretty laid back i heard. i've never been there, but i've trained with elmer a couple of times before and know people who's gone there. it's been described to me as a place where the grateful dead meats judo. they also do sumo there sometimes. elmer is big on sumo. and big. real big.

how far are you willing to travel?
i know quite a few judo places in toronto. if you tell me your intersection, i might be able to guide you somewhere.


lol I have never been there either ... but from the pics and writing style on the website it seems like the place is run by hippies! I always thought hippies were lovers not fighters, but hey to each their own :)

[ippon]

lol I have never been there either ... but from the pics and writing style on the website it seems like the place is run by hippies! I always thought hippies were lovers not fighters, but hey to each their own :)

it's just elmer's hairstyle that looks hippy-ish :). you don't want to mess with this mountain man. but, he's a real nice guy and has a very good reputation.
apparently he's real good with kids too. kids tend to listen to you, if you look like real life version of Hagrid. if i lived near him, i could picture myself going there. i like laid back environments. some people don't understand that one can be laid back and serious at the same time.

personally, i really hate strict 'traditional' clubs that adhere to some sort of pseudo-japanese samurai code. i'm fascinated by people who say 'oos' at every turn and act as if they are at a military. i find it real interesting that a lot of bjj people say oos a lot, especially because none of them knows what it means.

[ippon]

There's a Judo Club in Kensington Market? Where exact? I thought Ronin is elsewhere.

I've been wanting to get into Judo in downtown but haven't found the right environment for beginners.

In my opinion, BJJ is an alternative but Judo is more street.

you should go to Ronin with OP.

there's also annex judo, but i was told that they don't open during the summer, because they rent their space from a school.

http://annexjudoacademy.blogspot.com/

mecha also has judo 3 times a week.

http://mechamma.com/

and i don't think you need to worry so much about finding a 'right environment' for a beginner. for the most part, judo folks are very accomodating to beginners. matter of fact, i'd say they are the most accomodating of any grappling sports, from my personal experience. if i were you, i'd just walk in and try it out for a bit to see if i liked it. i've seen plenty of people come and go in judo. it just ain't for everyone. if it doesn't work out for you, there's nothing wrong with that, but please do give it a shot.

[obernewtyn]

you should go to Ronin with OP.

there's also annex judo, but i was told that they don't open during the summer, because they rent their space from a school.

http://annexjudoacademy.blogspot.com/

mecha also has judo 3 times a week.

http://mechamma.com/

and i don't think you need to worry so much about finding a 'right environment' for a beginner. for the most part, judo folks are very accomodating to beginners. matter of fact, i'd say they are the most accomodating of any grappling sports, from my personal experience. if i were you, i'd just walk in and try it out for a bit to see if i liked it. i've seen plenty of people come and go in judo. it just ain't for everyone. if it doesn't work out for you, there's nothing wrong with that, but please do give it a shot.


I did signed up for mecca. The instructor who ran the class actually suggested me to go to Annex since mecca don't have alot of people doing Judo especially for beginners. Which explained why I was the only student in the class until he talked 2 bjj guys who also does judo (brown belts and higher) to join in the class. Plus, it wasn't Goki Uemura as he does not teach there often. Not even on a weekly basis.
My experience wasn't positive and I just wouldn't recommend judo beginners there. Personally, if they were more welcoming and if the instructor wanted to actually teach me judo instead of suggesting me to go elsewhere, I'll probably stick around longer since I already paid for the classes.

I searched annex in the past but they don't seem to update their websites so I wasn't sure if they are still running. I haven't heard any feedbacks about the club but I'm open to give it a shot there. I've heard alot of good things about Ronins and it does sound like a place where I'll like to train. Wished it was closer or even in Kensington Market because that's around my area.

[ippon]

I did signed up for mecca. The instructor who ran the class actually suggested me to go to Annex since mecca don't have alot of people doing Judo especially for beginners. Which explained why I was the only student in the class until he talked 2 bjj guys who also does judo (brown belts and higher) to join in the class. Plus, it wasn't Goki Uemura as he does not teach there often. Not even on a weekly basis.
My experience wasn't positive and I just wouldn't recommend judo beginners there. Personally, if they were more welcoming and if the instructor wanted to actually teach me judo instead of suggesting me to go elsewhere, I'll probably stick around longer since I already paid for the classes.

I searched annex in the past but they don't seem to update their websites so I wasn't sure if they are still running. I haven't heard any feedbacks about the club but I'm open to give it a shot there. I've heard alot of good things about Ronins and it does sound like a place where I'll like to train. Wished it was closer or even in Kensington Market because that's around my area.

very interesting.
when did you go to mecca for judo?
i went there consistently for 1 year, up until two years ago. Brent was teaching most classes at the time. i basically stopped going at the same time when brent stopped teaching at mecca. i know goki well, so i wouldn't mind going there, but it's too damn far. i can't lose 2 hrs in travel time everyday.
i'm a bit of an ***** more than occasionally, but i was very good to all beginners at mecca and elsewhere i trained.
was mark teaching when you went there? or was it tami?

i don't have personal experience with annex, but i hear dave miller is a very good judoka, and very traditional. i think someone told me he lived in japan for a long time and speaks japanese.

ronin isn't around kensington. it's around dupont and lansdowne.

[obernewtyn]

very interesting.
when did you go to mecca for judo?
i went there consistently for 1 year, up until two years ago. Brent was teaching most classes at the time. i basically stopped going at the same time when brent stopped teaching at mecca. i know goki well, so i wouldn't mind going there, but it's too damn far. i can't lose 2 hrs in travel time everyday.
i'm a bit of an ***** more than occasionally, but i was very good to all beginners at mecca and elsewhere i trained.
was mark teaching when you went there? or was it tami?

i don't have personal experience with annex, but i hear dave miller is a very good judoka, and very traditional. i think someone told me he lived in japan for a long time and speaks japanese.

ronin isn't around kensington. it's around dupont and lansdowne.

It's around 2 years, more or less.
I can't remember his name, black belt at least in his 40's. He didn't treated me bad and I thought he honestly felt I would get better training elsewhere.

What drawn me to mecca because they also have bjj, and I like the option of learning that on the side when I get more familiar with Judo.
I thought Goki was going to be around to teach.
Mecca is known to be a great place to train.

Mecca was known to be a BJJ place first (don't know about now as they seem to jump into the MMA theme), but I was there for the mainly Judo. Maybe, it's better to stick to Judo clubs and not MMA or BJJ clubs that offers Judo on the side.

Yeh, travel time is my constraint which was why I also chose Mecca since it's close by.

Annex does sound appealing now.

[nauru]

Yeah David Miller is a very good teacher. Personally I wouldn't call his teaching style traditional--at least not compared to the JCC at Don Mills and Eglinton which is Japanese through and through. Then again if your reference point is MMA/BJJ/Sambo, then David Miller is more traditional than that (as are most people whose primary martial art is judo). Anyway he's been around for ages and used to compete at a very high level. Has been teaching since I was a kid and seems to have pretty widespread respect in Canada. You will learn good stuff.

[ippon]

It's around 2 years, more or less.
I can't remember his name, black belt at least in his 40's. He didn't treated me bad and I thought he honestly felt I would get better training elsewhere.

What drawn me to mecca because they also have bjj, and I like the option of learning that on the side when I get more familiar with Judo.
I thought Goki was going to be around to teach.
Mecca is known to be a great place to train.

Mecca was known to be a BJJ place first (don't know about now as they seem to jump into the MMA theme), but I was there for the mainly Judo. Maybe, it's better to stick to Judo clubs and not MMA or BJJ clubs that offers Judo on the side.

Yeh, travel time is my constraint which was why I also chose Mecca since it's close by.

Annex does sound appealing now.

you must have just missed me. i stopped going on the last day of december in 2009. Brent is Goki's son. he started to come in because the travel was too much for Goki. great man, Goki. the first time i sparred with him, he had me spending more time up in the air than on my feet, and this was when i thought i was a hot s***. i should pay him a visit.

[nauru]

A short bit of googling reveals David Miller won the world masters championship in 1998.

[ippon]

A short bit of googling reveals David Miller won the world masters championship in 1998.

not that i want to take anything away from him, but back then, world masters didn't mean a whole lot. JUST recently it actually started to get competitive, when people who were actually top competitors in their prime started to participate in it when they got older.

[obernewtyn]

Thanks for the info. Will be checking out annex first.

[ippon]

check with them to see if they open during the summer, if you want to continue training during the summer.
last i heard, they don't open during the summer, because they train from a private elementary school.

Japanese cultural center was mentioned earlier by someone else. if you want something more intense, that would be the place to go and if you don't mind the bit of travel; it's near don mills and eg. it's probably the largest judo club in toronto, so you'd learn a lot.

i'd be sure to talk to the mecca people about your experience though next time i see them.

[nauru]

So Elmer will be in an opera apparently...

http://www.toronto.com/article/717219--sumo-wrestler-found-in-toronto-to-perform-for-canadian-opera-company


Sumo wrestler found in Toronto to perform for Canadian Opera Company
Tweet This
Elmer Gale

Keith Beaty/Toronto Star

Sumo wrestler Elmer Gale, shown with daughter Paxlayla in this 2004 file photo, has been cast in the Canadian Opera Company's production of Semele.
Toolbar

By Trish Crawford
Entertainment Reporter
Mar 14, 2012

A classical music-loving sumo wrestler has been cast in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Semele following a North American-wide search that ended back in Toronto.

Elmer Gale, a 320-pound furniture mover, also runs the Ronin Judo and Sumo Club in Toronto. He joins Emanuel Yarbrough of the U.S. who, at 625 pounds, is listed as the “largest professional athlete in the world” in the Guinness Book of Records.

Gale was found by a COC staffer who heard about him in a kick boxing class and scouted him on the internet where he has an MTV video. In 2004, the Star wrote about Gale and the city’s growing love for the sport of sumo.

“I’m excited,” says Gale, who listens to classical music all day in his truck. He loves Bach and Beethoven as well as Wagner.

He has only been to one opera, Carmina Burana, which he enjoyed very much. His daughter Paxlayla, 16, is on a trip to Europe and was visiting Versailles when Gale gave her the news.

“She thought it was extraordinary when I told her,” says Gale, adding his daughter also loves classical music.

He teaches judo four nights a week and sumo two nights a week at the club and plans to participate in a large sumo tournament in Idaho this summer.

In the meantime, he will soon have rehearsals for the three-minute wrestling match with Yarbrough.

[ippon]

So Elmer will be in an opera apparently...

http://www.toronto.com/article/717219--sumo-wrestler-found-in-toronto-to-perform-for-canadian-opera-company

nice!

[phomp]

If you are looking for somewhere more towards the East, salvosa's BJJ is the current gym that i'm training with. The owner is a great guy. It's 120$ a month, which is the lowest price for quality BJJ in Toronto and he doesn't tie you down with a contract. The environment is great, and there are a lot of beginners as well as people who are highly dedicated.
Not trying to put down or slag Salvosa's but when you say it is the lowest price for quality BJJ in Toronto, I am not so sure about that. Do not get me wrong because I think Omar and the gym are awesome and a great price but Action and Reaction is out the same way and is about the same price. In terms of all of Toronto, Xtreme Couture is actually quite a bit cheaper and the Nova Uniao in Mississuga, near sherway (not Kombat Arts - no longer affilated) is quite a bit cheaper.

Again, I am not saying not to check out Salvosa's because if I was out in the east end.. That is where I would be training.



personally, i really hate strict 'traditional' clubs that adhere to some sort of pseudo-japanese samurai code. i'm fascinated by people who say 'oos' at every turn and act as if they are at a military. i find it real interesting that a lot of bjj people say oos a lot, especially because none of them knows what it means. Agreed. I kept hearing it and then rolled with the mendes brothers and they said it before and after every roll, at that point I had to look up what it meant because I was unaware.



was mark teaching when you went there? or was it tami?

Are you refering to Stables? I was wondering if he had any judo experience. I wonder how Stables is enjoying life in Mexico.. lol.

[ippon]

Not trying to put down or slag Salvosa's but when you say it is the lowest price for quality BJJ in Toronto, I am not so sure about that. Do not get me wrong because I think Omar and the gym are awesome and a great price but Action and Reaction is out the same way and is about the same price. In terms of all of Toronto, Xtreme Couture is actually quite a bit cheaper and the Nova Uniao in Mississuga, near sherway (not Kombat Arts - no longer affilated) is quite a bit cheaper.

Again, I am not saying not to check out Salvosa's because if I was out in the east end.. That is where I would be training.

Agreed. I kept hearing it and then rolled with the mendes brothers and they said it before and after every roll, at that point I had to look up what it meant because I was unaware.


Are you refering to Stables? I was wondering if he had any judo experience. I wonder how Stables is enjoying life in Mexico.. lol.

oos is a funny word. even most japanese don't really know what it means. two of the popular theories is, one, that it was often uttered with the military types, and since lot of them also did MA, it trickled down, another real interesting theory is that there was an old MA movie and it was said often there and martial artists adopted it. there are a couple more theories too.

and i didn't mean stables, when i said mark. there was another mark who only did judo.
i went to stables' last fund raiser, a few days before he got the boot. i doubt i'd ever see him again so i went over to see him. he's connections aside, he was a chill dude, and i liked him for it.

[ippon]

just heard that Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki is holding a 3 day seminar in Burlington. not cheap at $140, but it is a 3 day thang, and you'd be learning from a world champion, who has the best tomoenage in the world and also widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best ground work specialist in judo.

http://fullcirclejudoclub.ca/