Martial Arts & Combat Sports Study

Toronto martial arts dojos and combat sport gyms study

Combatpit Research
Toronto, Canada
Updated: March, 2026
An expanded analysis of urban gym distribution, market saturation, and the correlation between concentration and discipline prevalence across the Greater Toronto Area.
Identified
425
Gyms with martial arts disciplines
Gyms per
0.67
km²
One gym for every
6,894
residents
Most Popular
Boxing
with 96 Gyms
Per 100,000 PPL
14.5
Martial Arts Gyms
City area
630
km²
Population
2,930,000
Across the GTA

Most Popular Disciplines

01
Boxing
96
Gyms
02
BJJ
79
Gyms
03
Karate
76
Gyms
04
Muay Thai
66
Gyms
05
Kickboxing
61
Gyms
06
Taekwondo
48
Gyms
07
MMA
39
Gyms
08
Kung Fu
26
Gyms
09
Judo
24
Gyms
10
Tai Chi
23
Gyms
11
Wrestling
18
Gyms
12
Krav Maga
16
Gyms

Toronto — Martial Arts & Combat Sports

Bubble size represents number of gyms. Hover for details.

Combat sports
Traditional arts
Hybrid / grappling

Most Popular Combinations

01
Kickboxing + Muay Thai
33
Gyms
02
Boxing + Muay Thai
31
Gyms
03
Boxing + Kickboxing
30
Gyms
04
BJJ + MMA
27
Gyms
05
BJJ + Muay Thai
24
Gyms
06
BJJ + Kickboxing
18
Gyms
07
BJJ + Wrestling
16
Gyms
08
Kickboxing + MMA
16
Gyms
09
MMA + Muay Thai
16
Gyms
10
BJJ + Boxing
14
Gyms

Toronto — Martial Arts Combinations

Arc thickness represents how many gyms teach both disciplines together. Hover to explore.

Immigrant Community Correlation

Toronto's multicultural makeup shows up clearly in the data. The city's immigrant communities have left a strong imprint on which arts are commercially represented.
Japanese community
85+
gyms
Karate + Judo + Aikido combined, the single largest cultural bloc
Korean community
53
gyms
Taekwondo (48) + Hapkido (5)
Chinese community
52
gyms
Kung Fu + Wing Chun + Tai Chi
Brazilian community
85
gyms
BJJ at 79 gyms, plus Capoeira (6)
Filipino community
10+
gyms
Arnis, Escrima, Kali, Balintawak — surprisingly low given Toronto's large Filipino population

White Space

Despite being one of the world's most diverse cities, several martial arts remain dramatically underrepresented relative to the size of their home communities in Toronto. These represent either market opportunities or arts that haven't successfully made the transition to commercial gym formats.
01

Wrestling

Only 18 gyms in a city of nearly 3 million is extremely low
02

Sambo

1 gym, despite Toronto's Eastern European community
03

Savate

1 gym, essentially absent
04

Silat

2 gyms, underrepresented given the Malay and Indonesian diaspora
05

South Asian arts

Silambam (2) and Kalaripayattu (1) are nearly invisible despite large South Asian population
06

Filipino arts

Filipino arts remain a white space relative to the size of the Filipino community in Toronto

Least Represented

Traditional weapons arts are nearly invisible in Toronto's gym landscape. Several niche combat systems exist at only one or two locations each.
Iaido
6
gyms
Systema
2
gyms
Silat
2
gyms
Pankration
2
gyms
Naginata
1
gyms
Kyudo
1
gyms
Savate
1
gyms
Sambo
1
gyms
HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts)
1
gyms

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