Judo is the way to the most effective use of both physical and spiritual strength. By training you in attacks and defences it refines your body and your soul and helps you make the spiritual essence of Judo a part of your very being. In this way you are able to perfect yourself and contribute something of value to the world. This is the final goal of Judo discipline.

— Jigoro Kano

For approximately forty years, The University of Toronto Judo Club at Hart House has been a not-for-profit organization dedicated primarily to the instruction and practice of recreational judo, in accordance with the principles and practices of the Kodokan Judo Institute (Tokyo, Japan). Our club is a member of Judo Ontario, and through it Judo Canada and the International Judo Federation. By philosophy and practice within an academic environment, our club is focused on education and physical culture.

Judo as developed by its founder, Jigoro Kano, is designed to be practised in a full-contact manner while maintaining the least possible injury risk to its practitioners. Any techniques designed to purposefully injure or inflict pain on another individual are not tolerated within the club. The two principles “Mutual Welfare and Benefit” and “Maximum Efficiency” underpin all that a judo practitioner does, particularly in protecting the physical and emotional well-being of all participants. Accordingly, practice of Judo leads to development of character, self-confidence, self-discipline, physical fitness and healthy values in relationships with club members and others.