Thunder Bay

Judo Dojo

Sven started judo in 1974 under sensei Merv King. With Mel Durand he formed the Ear Falls Samurai Judo club. Since that time he has competed in many regional and provincial tournaments. He is an NCCP level 1 certified judo coach and a Provincial A referee. He is active in the administration at the club level and served as the Northwest region’s board representative and regional director for 6 years. In his many years with the Thunder Bay Judo Dojo, and previously the Budokan Judo Club of Thunder Bay, he was coach to many competitors who have been Provincial Champions and competitors at the national and international level. Sven is married and has two daughters who were active in judo for many years.

Eric Boutin has been involved in Judo for over 30 years but has also studied karate (Yamanaka Kempo), aikido, aiki-jitsu and kendo but his passion is definitely with judo. He has his forth degree black belt (yonder) and is an NCCP certified level 1 coach and a Provincial A referee in judo. He has been a member of the Thunder Bay Judo Dojo since 1994 when he moved from Red Lake to Thunder Bay. Married and the proud father of one son who was born the same year as he received his black belt. He is a professional mechanical engineer doing project management for a Thunder Bay consulting firm.

Steve often acts as our club coach where we can benefit from his experience in competition in judo and other sports.

Mario started Judo in Dryden ON in 1983.  Since that time, he has had the opportunity to instruct and became a competitor for 12 years competing at a Provincial, National and as well International levels. Through his years of competition, he has achieved Provincial, National and International achievements awards. He also has been a gold medallist at the Canadian Junior National which gave him the opportunity to train with the National team and as being a member of the Ontario Judo team for 4 years. In his achievements, he has had the opportunity to be a nominee for the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame for Judo.  In 1991 he received his Shodan (1st degree black belt). For 4 years he was an instructor for the Vermillion Bay Judo club and is also a referee at the Provincial C level.  He has also attended various Judo clinics that were facilitated by former Canadian Olympians. Through the years he has been an integral part of the Thunder Bay Judo Dojo, and states that he has always had a high respect for this club. Though he no longer competes, he enjoys being a part of this club by instructing and fundraising. Now he watches his daughter Zoe that has been involved with the Thunder Bay Judo Dojo for the last three years and mentions that "seeing the great instructors and the family oriented environment makes me proud to be part of this club".

Kevin Kennedy is dearly missed by all those at the club as he passed away in June 2011. During his stay with us he provided valuable guidance to the club members and to the club board. In his memory we have established an annual bursary that is awarded to a post-secondary student who also practices judo.

Introduced to Judo while attending Hammarskjold High School, Kevin was recruited to Lakehead University where he competed on the wrestling and judo teams. He won the GPAC Judo Championships and became the assistant coach under Ron Lappage. Teammates of the day included Canadian champion Mitch Kawasaki and Ron Hampson. He continued training at the Lakehead University Judo Club until it merged with the Budokan Dojo and ultimately evolved into the Thunder Bay Judo Dojo. He was the Chief Instructor of our dojo. He had credited his lessons and capacity learned as a judoka and its continued training in helping him in his career as a professional firefighter. He had retired at the rank of Captain after 30 years of service. In 2003 the City of Thunder Bay awarded him its Achievement Award for Distinguished Service to the Citizens of Thunder Bay. Kevin was the President of the Thunder Bay Martial Arts Council. He successfully had Thunder Bay designated the "Martial Arts Capital of Canada", which is recognized internationally.