Judo was introduced to Canada in the early twentieth century by Japanese migrants, and was limited to British Columbia until the forced expulsion, internment, and resettlement of Japanese-Canadians after Japan entered the Second World War in 1941.
New dojos opened in the Prairies, Ontario, and Quebec, primarily in the mid-to-late 1940s, and the centre of Canadian judo shifted from Vancouver to Toronto, where a significant number of judoka had settled after the war.
Many early dojos were housed at the local branch of the YMCA, which also provided short-term accommodation, assisted with finding employment, and coordinated social programs for resettled Japanese Canadians.
Katsuta was born in Japan and had received his yondan (fourth dan) from the Kodokan before immigrating to Ocean Falls in 1937, and Senda was born in Mission and had earned his shodan (first dan) under Eichi "John" Hashizume and Yoshitaka Mori a few years before moving to Alberta.
After the war, more than 300 displaced Japanese Canadians decided to stay in southern Alberta, and Senda established the Kyodokan Judo Club at the original Lethbridge YMCA building at 4th Avenue and 10th Street South in 1952.