Tora Judo Club: Founded in 1970
Tora is proud of its association
with the City of Brampton for
almost 35 years. During this time, thousands of students have
proudly called Tora their second home. We at Tora are fortunate in
having our members gather many medals from all over the
world. However success in competition is not the primary
goal. As Professor Kano said, our goal is to produce better
people.
To produce a better person
requires training, discipline, team work, selflessness as well as
dedication. Tora's volunteer instructors offer all of this in
addition to teaching the techniques of judo.
We at Tora offer you to a new
adventure -- one that has been taken by many students before
you. We hope you find this adventure as rewarding as we have.
The Tora family:
Our qualified instructors:
Tony Kelly (3rd Degree Black Belt - Sandan)
Tony is the President of the Club and Chief Instructor, as well as our longest standing member.
He has been with the club since the early days in 1970. Tony has been instructing at the club for
15 years and has attained his National B referee status along with his NCCP II certification.
Tony runs the competitive class on Tuesdays for the fighters and can be found refereeing at
just about every tournament running.
Heather (West) Reid (3rd Degree Black Belt - Sandan)
Heather started Judo in 1970 with Tora Judo Club thanks to her older brothers Glenn and Kevin.
"After attaining my brown belt, I took a very long sabbatical" reports Heather. Thanks to her
sons Derrick and Alexander, Heather came back to Judo in 1999 with her original club.
Heather is a Provincial Level A referee with her NCCP Level II
certification. Heather continues to actively participate in competition, qualifying for the Ontario
Team in 2005 Ontario Nage-no-Kata; 2006 Qualified 1st in Ontario for Nage-no-Kata Nationals; 2005 3rd
place in 7th Annual World Masters Shiai and 2005 2nd place in 7th Annual World Masters Nage-no-Kata.
Jason Hall (2nd Degree Black Belt - Nidan)
Jason is our newest instructor with the club. He received his black belt in March 2008.
Jason started with Tora Judo Club in 1986 and continued until 1991 when he took a sabatical. He returned
in 2002 to continue his studies. Jason is working torwards his NCCP Level II certificatio and has both First Aid
and CPR B certification.
Peter Mara (1st Degree Black Belt - Shodan)
Peter started Judo in 1972, he is a Provincial C referee, He joined the Tora Judo Club in 1978.
He received his shodan in 1989 and started teaching the Thursday night classes for kids ages 6 to 15.
Peter eventually took over as head instructor for the Thursday night class.
Peter currently has his NCCP Level II certification.
Grant Kuramoto (3rd Degree Black Belt - Sandan)
Originally from the Steveston Judo Club in British Columbia, Grant moved to Ontario and joined the Tora Club
in 2004. Grant, who enjoys practicing judo with his children Michael and Lindsay, provides instruction in both the
junior and adult classes. He currently holds a Panamerican Judo Confederation referee license and
serves on the Judo Ontario referee committee.
Roland Chalons (3rd Degree Black Belt - Sandan)
Rolly started Judo in Tahiti in 1964, where he progressed to his brown belt. He came to Canada in 1969
and in 1984 he joined the Tora Judo Club. Rolly received his black belt in 1995. He currently has his Sandan, is NCCP level 2
certified and has Provincial B status in refereeing. Rolly teaches at the club on Thursday nights and Saturday mornings.
Jack Libregts ( Shodan )
Bio pending.
Our Assistant instructors:
Alexander Reid - Shodan December 13, 2009
Alexander Foster - Shodan December 13, 2009
.
Mick McNabb - Shodan August 5, 2008
.
Nicole Jenicek - Shodan August 5, 2008
.
Derrick Reid - Shodan June 5, 2010
.
Our instructors are fully certified to coach and all have many years
of coaching and instruction under their belts. Tora Judo Club has
produced many black belts. Many of the
instructors have been with the club for over 20 years; we even have a
few original members from the very beginning of Tora! We have
also seen third generation judokas coming on our
mats.
Thank you to the countless volunteer instructors who spend countless hours
teaching and coaching!
Thank you to our volunteers!
We would not be operational today without you! Thank you for
your many hours carrying out the administrative tasks, fundraising
and cheering our judoka on!
One of our most infamous parent volunteers, Fran McCrodden
started out
driving her children to and from tournaments. Over the span of
30 years, she became an invaluable administrator for the club as
well as our current tournament director. Her contributions to
Tora Judo and Judo ON
are immensely appreciated!
Very very special thanks to Tora's devoted Michelle Sewell. She is the one
behind the counter who handles countless tasks including club
registration. Some of our most loyal volunteers, like Fran and
Michelle, are those whose children have grown and long since left the
club!
Our Dojo!
Work out in one of the most spacious dojos in Canada! Our mat space is
unsurpassed. Parents: we have plenty of comfortable seating
so please feel free to stick around and watch your child's practice!
Consider joining yourself! Over 20 years
ago, Tora judokas worked hard at fundraising to make significant
contributions to the funding of this dojo. The fruits of that
labour are still enjoyed today at Terry Miller Rec Centre.