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Shihan Forrester

Founder of the Canadian Jiujitsu Council

R. W. Forrester
9th Degree, Jiujitsu
5th Degree, Karate

Commemorative newsletter dedicated to Shihan Forrester (click here).

Shihan Ronald Forrester
The Passing of a Canadian Martial Arts Legend

The members of the Canadian Jiu Jitsu Council are deeply saddened by the passing of our Headmaster, Shihan Ronald W. Forrester. Shihan Forrester was the Founder and Chief Instructor of both the Canadian Jiu Jitsu Association and the Canadian Jiu Jitsu Council. The martial arts community worldwide mourns his loss. He was a friend and mentor to all. We extend our sincerest sympathy to his family.

The funeral was held on Monday, February 25 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Raphael Catholic Church, 4072 New Street in Burlington, Ontario.

Dear Sir,
It is with great sadness that I recently got the news of Sensei
Forrester's passing.  Although I have been out of the sport for some
years, I have many fond memories of Ron.

It was as a blue belt in Hap Ki Do in 1974  that I joined my sensei, Rand
Tyler Stevenson (from the John Hatashita club in Waterloo) on a trip to
Oakville to be introduced to the entire group of Jiu Jitsu black belts.
On this trip we gave a seminar on how to deliver kicking techniques as
they up to this point did not use kicks to a large degree.

We were convinced that this group was worth joining so Rand and I became
Jiu Jitsu members and started a club in Waterloo.

I received my black belt in 1975 and started my own club at the YMCA and
trained up to about 20 - 30 students to black belt level.

It was Ron that got me involved in international competition as we went to
Hawaii in 1977 and then several other contests in England and Australia. I
will always rememer the thrill of being chosen to repesent Canada on these
teams.

I am truly sorry that I missed my chance to honour him earlier so I hope
that this message may be passed on to express my gratitude to Ron and the
honour to have known him
Sincerely
Allan J. MacLean

Shihan Ronald Forrester
1927  - 2013

We wish to thank all members of the Canadian Jiu Jitsu family for the
beautiful floral arrangements as well as the many expressions of sympathy
both in person and on line.

It was very heart warming to see so many of you at the memorial mass and
reception in celebration of his life. He would have been honoured.

Your kindness and support was much appreciated at this very sad time. He
will be greatly missed.

Thank you for all. From the family

His History

In 1958 Ronald Forrester transferred from Frank Hatashita's Judo class to Henk Jansen's Jiujitsu class. In 1962 he formulated the Canadian Jiujitsu System changing Jiujitsu from a grappling Martial Art to a Comprehensive Martial Art encompassing all combative techniques with emphasis on striking techniques.

To increase the technical efficiency of the newly formed System and to make it the best it possibly could be professional World Champions and World Renowned Instructors were brought to Canada to infuse their knowledge and skills into the System.

Professional World Kick Boxing Champions Bill Wallace (Middleweight) and Joe Lewis (Heavyweight) and Dan Inosanto (Jeet Kune Do and Kali), Prof. Wally Jay (Kodenkan Jiujitsu), Richard Kim (Dai Nippon Butokukai and Daito Ryu Aikijitsu), Jim Arvanitis (Greek Pankration), Police Inspector Alfred Hasemeir (European Jiujitsu) and Police Instructor George Sylvain (Pressure Points).

In addition Nick Cipriano (National Free Style Wrestling Champion and Coach), Jack Dugan (Canadian Middleweight Boxing Champion) and Instructors of Karate (Chito Ryu), Aikido (Yoshinkai), Korean Hapkido and Kempo all contributed to the development of the Canadian System of Jiujitsu.

In 1963 assisted by Frank Hatashita, Hal Batke (recently retired) and Bruce Stanton (still active) he founded the Canadian Jiujitsu Association holding the positions of President and Chief Instructor until he resigned in 1994.

In 1984 as a result of his proposal the first World Jiujitsu Championships were held at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario and the World Council Of Jiujitsu Organizations was formed where he was unanimously elected the first Chairman.