BudoRay - Halifax

Manimal Athletics Training Center is proud to host another legendary instructor, Darrell LaFrance , for an exciting seminar on Saturday, April 25th.

With over 50 years of experience, Darrell is a true pioneer of grappling in Ontario.

His background includes service in law enforcement and as a SWAT team instructor, with deep expertise in police defensive tactics and combat-based training at the highest level.

This seminar will focus on groundwork from a practical self-defense perspective and will be conducted in the gi.

📱 Text only: 902-441-8009

📩 Or send a direct message to reserve your spot

💵 Payment at the door

Its will be an honor to share the art and techniques of the Filipino Arts with over 800 people in May.

Along with so many instructors from around the world in multiple disciplines.

Sharing the lineage of G**o Rob Doley

From 6:00 a.m. boot camps to private lessons, additional training at HFXBJJ, and three weekly sessions at Manimal Athletics, the dedication and consistency shown by our athletes continues to pay off.

A special congratulations to Matt and Todd for stepping onto the mats at Submission Series.

Competing in his third tournament, Matt delivered an outstanding performance, earning gold.

In his first match, he secured victory with a well-timed triangle armbar, patiently maintaining control and capitalizing when his opponent’s focus shifted.

In his second match, he demonstrated technical precision once again, finishing with a clean “other side” triangle to seal the win.

Todd earned bronze on the podium, but his achievement goes far beyond placement.

As a former two-tour active war zone veteran, this event represented a personal mental challenge:

committing to training, cutting weight, and showing up to compete.

In doing so, he had already accomplished his primary goal.

His composure, resilience, and positive attitude throughout the day were inspiring, capped off by the biggest smile after his matches.

While Manimal Athletics operates as a non-competitive Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program, many of our students are seasoned, long-time martial artists who continually seek to challenge themselves and grow through disciplined training.

As always, sincere thanks to Ryan Staples and the entire Manimal Athletics team for your continued support.

Pretty much SOLD OUT 😄

Also it gets even better… it looks like 20 + Black Belts from Jujitsu and other arts will be in attendance!

This is shaping up to be the largest gathering of senior Japanese Jujitsu Black Belts and participants in Nova Scotia history.

Alain Sailly , Antony Paquet , Darrell LaFrance , Scott Roper , Rob Rodgers , Ben Pincock , Robin René , Brent MacRae , Cynthia Rogers , Michael Simms , Greg Albers, Chris Regan, Kevin Jones , Andy Allen, Mark Konečný

So many more I just can't fit all the Black Belts and students in 😆 😅

Still a few spaces left, Pre-registration is getting close to closing.

The largest gathering of senior-ranked Japanese Jujitsu instructors to ever hit Nova Scotia will be on Feb 18th.

Epic training coming 💪 😎 🙌 👌

Happy Friday 😊

" To free yourself from the constraints of martial arts styles, think of swimming.

There is no Chinese, Japanese, or Brazilian way to swim.

You enter the water and move in whatever way keeps you afloat, efficient, and alive.

Your body teaches you what works.

The water makes no distinction.

Train your martial arts the same way and let go of rigid labels, dogma, and the “classical mess.”

Move in a way that fits your frame, your timing, and your reality.

That’s where real liberation begins.

:)

- Ray McKinnon

Inspired by the philosophy of
Jeet Kune Do 🙏 🫡

In the midst of trying not to watch North America unravel in real time, I wanted to share some positive news that genuinely brings me joy.

Tonight at Manimal Athletics, we had the pleasure of hosting our senior Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu advisor, Carlos Cesar Nunes, for another outstanding seminar.

We were also joined by our BJJ instructor Mark Konecny, and the Manimal team showed up in full force.

Congratulations to everyone who received new stripes.

A strong and well-earned start to 2026.

We followed the seminar with a Jiu-Jitsu Fusion class, where Mark, a 2nd-degree Japanese Jujitsu Black Belt and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, shared excellent concepts on integrating both arts seamlessly.

It was an exceptional turnout and a great night for the Manimal Athletics programs.

Hanshi Alain Sailly of France returns to Nova Scotia at Manimal Athletics Training Center celebrating our 41 years in Japanese Jujitsu 😀 😄 👏

First Jiu-Jitsu Fusion class of 2026.

An amazing group of people keeping the tradition of Japanese Jujitsu since 1985 and now mixed with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and going strong 💪 😉 at Manimal Athletics Training Center

Today was pummeling drills, to single-leg pick up, take the back game, takedowns to guard passing ( with strikes ) traditional ground controls or added leg lock 🔐 😀

Then added split-entey boxing drills followed up with some rolling for some of us :)

Tomorrow ( Saturday) 10:30am, Manimal Athletics Training Center 💪 👌 👍

As we move into 2026, I would like to thank everyone for an exceptional year of training and for the many meaningful milestones we have achieved together.

Over the years, our program has proudly produced 36 Black Belts, including our first student to also earn a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu—a significant achievement that reflects both dedication and evolution within our art.

Along with our Black Belts who are working on their instructor certification in Bruce Lee's Jun Fan Gung-Fu / Jeet Kune Do - 4th generation students.

We will mark the beginning of 2026 with a special visit from our friend, 9th Dan Hanshi Alain Sailly of France, who will be returning to teach once again—this time for his first seminar at our Manimal Athletics location.

His continued support and guidance are deeply valued.

Our journey has spanned many chapters: from Sackville Arts Academy, Sackville Jujitsu Club, Atlantic Jujitsu Academy, Victorious Judo Jujitsu Club, and Bushido-Kai Martial Arts, to our current home at Manimal Athletics, alongside our students and long-standing friends at Halifax Bushido-Kai (Woo Young location).

As we move forward, we remain committed to preserving the history, values, and traditions that have shaped our lineage, while continuing to grow, adapt, and train with purpose.