Gracie Allegiance Ahuriri

21/09/2026

21/09/2026

Wellington, that was special ❤️
Yesterday we had the honour of presenting the inaugural Warrior Spirit Trophy to Tyler Smith, son of the late Damian Smith and new leader of Gracie Allegiance clan
This trophy was created in Damian’s memory to recognise the courage, humility, loyalty, resilience and commitment he brought to his team and the wider Jiu Jitsu community.
Gracie Allegiance arrived in force, filling the venue with energy and proudly taking home BEST ACADEMY 🏆
Dad would is so proud of you Tyler.
Combat Room Wellington, one of the strongholds of Wellington Jiu Jitsu, secured second place 👏🏼👏🏼 with a huge surge from Joe and the team at Wairua BJJ earning them third 🥉
This was genuinely one of the best atmospheres we have ever experienced at a Wellington event.
Eugene, Cath and the team run a well oiled machine in Kāpiti and yesterday goes down in the books as one of the best.
The support. The emotion. The strength of the teams. The feeling in the room.
There is no doubt Damian was right there with us, watching his legacy continue through Tyler, Gracie Allegiance and the community he helped build.
Teams travelled far and wide from Christchurch to Mangawhai ! That’s dedication and passion !
Thank you, Wellington. This one will stay with us. 🤙🏽
Next up, CHRISTCHURCH! 📍
🏆South Island Champs
🗓️17 October
🥷🏼Gi and No Gi divisions for kids, juveniles, adults and masters.
⏰Registrations close 12 October
Comment SOUTH ISLAND and we will send you the registration link.

15/09/2026

Jaye Rio won his first international medal with a move taught to him by his late coach. 👇

05/09/2026

Sport Jiu-Jitsu Int. Fed. World Championship 2026 Japan 🇯🇵

Black belt heavyweight under 92kg gold for Jaye 🥇

Purple belt light featherweight under 52kg silver for Yukako 🥈

23/08/2026

24/07/2026

Painful day yesterday finding out about the passing of my mentor, coach, and friend. Woke up this morning half hoping for there to have been a mistake or for it to have been a terrible dream, but the bro has truly passed.

Damo changed the trajectory of my life the day I walked into his gym in Stortford Lodge. The culture he formed on his mats made me realize, even at that young age, that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

He completely supported that realization of mine, even though I’d not mentioned it out loud to him until I was in my 20s (I was too nervous to talk to the guy when I was young because I’d never met a BJJ black belt before, he made up for the silence on my part with the speed he could speak at 😂, I really liked that about Damo).

When I did ask him how do I go about starting a gym and teaching, he instantly told me he would give me mats and that I should start right away in my garage. Not only was Damo the kind of guy to give you the shirt off his back, but he literally gave me the mats he rolled on, without hesitation.

I’m truly grateful to have had Damo in my life through my early teenage years into adulthood, I would not be who I am or doing what I am without having met him. One of a kind.

Thank you Lenka, Tyler and all you boys for allowing us all to share time with Damo over the years. You guys were that which he was always the most proud of, and after meeting you all, I definitely see why.

OSS Damo 👊🏼

24/07/2026

Gracie Allegiance Ahuriri wouldn’t have been a thing without the support and guidance of Damian Smith.

Gone way too soon, but his impact on the martial arts community will live on.

Rest well bro.

05/07/2026

Awesome day on the mats yesterday, well done everyone 🙂

03/07/2026

Another awesome term on the mats in the kids classes! Well done everyone 🙂.

To those that couldn’t make grading this week, just bring your belts next time you’re in class and we’ll add your next stripe.

Massive thank you as always to the parents and caregivers for putting in the effort to get the kids ready for training and for bringing them to the gym, none of this happens without your guys effort.

Classes continue through the holidays during regular times, so we’ll see you all next week.

If you’d like to get your kids involved, give us a message for more information.

29/06/2026

Stoked to grade young Charlie to blue belt tonight!

Charlie started in our 11-14yr old youth class and then moved into the adults class later on.

I always have a lot of respect for these young guys moving from the youth class to the adults class, it’s a big step up. Charlie well and truly took ownership of that challenge and is now one of the trickier sparring partners on the mat and definitely worthy of blue belt.

Well done my friend, you’ll make a fine black belt one day 👊🏼.