BudoRay - Halifax

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 😆 😅

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.