Michigan Judo Development is pleased to offer a new instructional video, published in honor of Nakamura-sensei’s recent promotion to Kudan and his recent award of the prestigious Order of Canada, for his contribution to the development of the sport of judo in Canada and especially in Quebec.
In this instructional video, Nakamura-sensei reviews and explains over a dozen techniques in great detail, demonstrating over a dozen tachi-waza techniques. This video is a must for all judo instructors and students. Nakamura-sensei was a top competitor in Japan in the early and mid-1960’s after which he came to Canada and quickly established himself as one of the top instructors and coaches in the country. Nakamura -sensei coached five Canadian Olympic teams, guiding Nicholas Gill to Olympic Silver and Bronze. learn from one of the best!
Available for $35 (including shipping) from MJDA. Please send your check to:
Michigan Judo Development Association 139 Roth Boulevard Clawson MI 48017Please indicate “Nakamura Video” on your check. Proceeds to benefit MJDA and to underwrite the production costs of this excellent video.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Noboru Saito
President
MJDA
Hiroshi Nakamura-sensei Biography
In 1964, the Olympics came to Tokyo and judo fighters from around the world visited the fabled Kodokan Institute to train. Hiroshi Nakamura, who lived nearby, was already an accomplished judoka – he took up the sport at age 12 to compete with his five brothers, winning a district tournament at 18 – and befriended many of the foreign athletes.
Among them were several Canadians, including Doug Rogers, who brought home a silver medal. They told Mr. Nakamura that Canada needed judo teachers so, in 1968, he packed his bags and headed to Montreal.
At the age of 26, Hiroshi Nakamura arrived in Canada and greatly impacted the advancement of Judo in Eastern Canada, particularly in Quebec. In addition to training generations of athletes and coaches, he also supervised the work of double Olympic medallist Nicolas Gill – who earned a silver medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and bronze medal at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games.
“When I arrived in Canada, my goal was to train athletes who would be capable of winning medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships. My second goal was to make judo as popular as hockey – and that’s not easy!” he explains with a laugh. “The third goal I had was to make Canadian Judo history, I believe this appointment to the Order of Canada certainly fulfills that.”
Though no longer actively training the National Team for some time, Mr. Nakamura remains involved in the world of judo, where his influence is felt to this day. Case in point, Mr. Nakamura’s former protégé Nicolas Gill was Antoine Valois-Fortier’s coach at the London 2012 Olympic Games; many will recall Valois-Fortier was the Canadian judoka who earned a bronze medal in the Under 81 kg category.
“I’ve never regretted moving here. When I first arrived in Canada, judo was popular mainly in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta – provinces where a lot of Japanese immigrants lived. There was practically nothing in Quebec, it had to be developed from the ground up. For example, no Quebecois judokas were on the Canadian Team at the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games, but things began to change in the 1980s.”
The sport, he says, has grown tremendously, from a niche activity to a pastime with a presence across the country. There are 22,000 judokas registered with Judo Canada, and he estimates there could be as many as 40,000 overall.
Judo, he says, has grown tremendously, from a niche activity to a pastime with a presence across the country. There are presently 22,000 judokas registered with Judo Canada, and he estimates there could be as many as 40,000 overall.
For all this, the affable 70-year-old has one more goal in mind: “Make judo as popular as hockey – I could still achieve that,” he laughs.
Konan Judo 
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