San Francisco Judo Institute

Our Story

 

The San Francisco Judo Institute was established in 1957 by Sensei Mitsuo Kimura who became instrumental in fostering Judo in the Western US. The intent of the Institute is to carry on the teachings of Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo, and Sensei Kimura, 9th Dan. SFJI has been an educational non-profit entity since the mid-fifties. SFJI has produced national, world and Olympic level judoka, is one of the largest Judo clubs in the Bay area and is known as a welcoming place to train for both recreational and elite athletes who visit from not only neighboring dojos, but also from other cities and countries.

 

At present our membership is very diversified and ranges from ages 8 to 80 years old. It is not unusual to have over a 1:1 ratio of black belts to lower ranks at our practices. Our instructors and leadership are TeamUSA “Safe Sport” certified, CDC CPR and concussion certified, and all black belts have been background certified per the United States Judo Federation and/or USA Judo (TeamUSA Olympic Committee) criteria. The institute welcomes new judoka of all ages and levels to learn judo with us whether they are long time residents or new to the city.

 

An Appeal for Funds

 

After several years without a permanent home, the San Francisco Judo Institute has acquired a dojo at a new location on Taraval Street, just across the street from the dojo it occupied from 1964 until 2013.

 

By securing this space, the San Francisco Judo Institute is re-establishing a permanent, dedicated presence in the community, allowing us to expand our services to provide other martial arts, self-defense and health activities in our schedule. It will also allow us to provide better training conditions for our members and many visitors with a larger mat area, a more robust training schedule, and cross-training opportunities. Most importantly, we will be able to foster a grassroots kids program to further Kodokan judo principles of technique, discipline and respect to develop competitors and recreational judokas alike.

 

In order to bring this new location up to code and open for judo practice, we will be required to make significant structural improvements, including city-mandated building codes requirements and the removal of two columns to improve safety and optimize mat space.

 

While important, these upgrades involve fees for architects, permitting, legal counsel, contractors, and more.

 

We are asking for your help and cooperation in making the re-opening of the judo club in a permanent location possible. We are reaching out to the community at large to help raise the funds necessary through this GoFundMe campaign. Individual donations of any size will bring us closer to this goal. But we know times are hard for everyone, so if you can find corporate donors and other individuals who are willing to help us, we would greatly appreciate your help with reaching out to such entities.

Please be safe, everyone.

 

Note: Since SFJI is a 501(c)3 organization, charitable donations made to the club are tax-deductible. If you wish to make a donation to SFJI and would like a receipt for tax purposes, please contact SFJI for a receipt.

 

San Francisco Judo Institute

 

The scope of work includes:

Demolition of existing partitions

Structural changes to the building to create a column-free mat area with 2 competition sized tatami

Change the façade to comply with modern safety standards and establish the institute’s branding

Padded walls for safety

Partitions for change rooms

Shower

2 unisex ADA compliant individual use bathrooms

Storage room

New lighting

Subfloor for the new tatami