Instructors

Sensei Ray McKinnon

Current Ranks:

4th Dan Yoshin-Ryu Jujitsu ( 2000 World Kobudo Federation) Level one Shootwrestling coach (1999 Shootwrestling Canada) Associate Instructor Jun Fan Gung Fu (2007 Doley Academy of Martial Arts) Associate instructor Jeet Kune Do (2007 Doley Academy of Martial Arts) Associate instructor Filipino Martial Arts (2007 Doley Academy of Martial Arts) Level one Muay Thai Kickboxing (2007 Thai Boxing Association of Canada) Certified P.P.C.T - Pressure point control tactics Certified Edge weapons awareness

Sensei Ray McKinnon with Guro Dan Inosanto

Ray McKinnon is the founder and chief instructor of the Bushido-Kai Martial Arts Academy.  He has been involved in the Martial Arts since 1975 and has been teaching and promoting Jujitsu in Nova Scotia since 1984.

Sensei McKinnon was the first Instructor in Nova Scotia to take traditional Jujitsu and modify it for children having started teaching kids Jujitsu programs in 1984. Also in 1984 he began his Kickboxing training under local Kickboxing pioneer Paul Talbot. As a Kickboxing competitor from 1984 to 1988 he had an amateur record of seven wins and three losses including taking Moosehead Breweries' 1986 Provincial Kickboxing Championships "Best Fight of the Night" award.  In 1985 Ray earned a "Young Entrepreneur" award from the Sackville Business Community for being the youngest person to start a Martial Arts School. This school started in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia and became what is now known as the Bushido-Kai Academy in Halifax.

In 1990 Mr. McKinnon developed Martial Arts programs for the Y.M.C.A in Prince Edward Island where he also taught Self-defense at Holland Collage.  In 1992 he developed "Kid Fit" programs for NuBodys Fitness Centers in Dartmouth and Bedford, as well as Halifax Recreation. Sensei traveled around the Province promoting Jujitsu and in 1996 he introduced Jujitsu to Cape Breton by way of seminars for the Sydney Judo Club and the Ingonish Judo club. In 1997 with the help of the Senior Provincial Judo Coach Victor Kulesza they started the Victorious Judo/Jujitsu Club. This Club became the largest club of its kind in Nova Scotia and was also a Canada Games Training Site for both Judo and Wrestling.  In 1998 Ray was awarded the "Spirit of Judo Award" from Judo Nova Scotia at a Provincial Competition making him the first Jujitsu Stylist to earn this award from a Judo Association. As well in 1998 he represented Jujitsu for Canada as a personal guest of the President of Judo Poland at the Polish Olympic Training Center.

After attending his Level one Coaching Certification in the Canadian Shoot Wrestling Program he became Provincial Representative for Shoot Wrestling Canada and in 2002 developed the Bushido-Kai Jujitsu program.

In 2007 Sensei Ray was certified in Jun Fan Gung-Fu /Jeet Kune Do and the Filipino Martial Arts under Guro Rob Doley (Inosanto lineage) making him and his senior student Roger Stone the first in Nova Scotia to receive this certification.

Also in 2007 Sensei ray took and passed his Level one performance test in Thai Boxing under the Thai Boxing Association of Canada. Over the years Ray has had the privilege to train under many great Martial Artists like Dan Inosanto, Royce Gracie, Dan Severn, Bart Vale, John Pellegrini, Jean-Yves Theriault, Robert Kranstz, John Therien, Tatso Suzuki and many others. Often he is invited out to dinner and has had great conversations with some of these masters. Moving ahead to 2009 Sensei Ray will continue to study and develop not only his Bushido-kai Jujitsu program but his ongoing studies in the Martial Arts.

Bushido-kai Staff

The Bushido-kai Academy has over fifteen qualified instructors and Black Belts who make up the staff at the Academy. Many of them have Black Belts in other arts as well as Bushido-kai jujitsu. All instructors bring with them years of experience and on any given night you will met and have the chance to train with them.