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

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Mick McNabb - Shodan August 5, 2008

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Nicole Jenicek - Shodan August 5, 2008

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Derrick Reid - Shodan June 5, 2010

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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.