Combat Room Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Vanderson Pires

Fantastic experience: I was on holiday in Wellington and had the chance to visit Combat Room BJJ, and it was an outstanding experience. The vibe at the gym is welcoming and inclusive, making me feel right at home from the start. The people there are friendly and supportive, creating a great community atmosphere that really enhances the training experience. I especially enjoyed sparring with the diverse and skilled training partners, which helped me learn several new techniques in a short time. The coaching by Professor Vanderson Pires is top-notch—his passion and structured approach to teaching made every session engaging and rewarding. The facility itself is clean, spacious, and well-equipped, with excellent mats and a strength and conditioning gym on site. Overall, Combat Room BJJ is a fantastic place to train, whether you’re a visitor or local, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to improve their Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in a positive and motivating environment.

Fantastic experience: While visiting Wellington for a couple of days I decided to pop into no-gi open mat at 10am on Saturday. It was a really welcoming gym with 10+ people introducing themselves to me. Level is good too. Highly recommend training here.

Fantastic experience: Great facility. Trainers are super knowledgeable and helpful. Very friendly and positive environment

Fantastic experience: Love training at this awesome gym. Cool people, cool vibes and everyone is keeping it safe. Definitely coming back

Fantastic experience: We’re from Auckland, and while in Wellington I messaged Coach Vanderson if my daughter could visit and he was so welcoming and accommodating. My daughter enjoyed the training and thought the kids were super friendly. Coach was professional and fun. Facilities are great too with the strength and conditioning gym in the same space as well as changing rooms. Very clean and spacious gym! Will return to The Combat Room whenever we are visiting Wellington. Thanks Prof. Vanderson!

Fantastic experience: I was only in wellington for a day and I had the chance to drop into combat room BJJ and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience, the guys here were welcoming, made me instantly feel at home. Coaching was also high level and really passionate about jiujutsu, in a short amount of time they gave me some really good takeaways and development for my game. Only wish I had more time to train here. Highly recommended!

Fantastic experience: I’ve been training at Combat Room for 4 months now, and it’s been an incredible experience. Vanderson is an amazing teacher his patience, attention to detail, and passion for BJJ make every class engaging and rewarding. The atmosphere is welcoming, and you’re constantly learning and improving. Highly recommend to anyone looking to start or progress in BJJ!

Fantastic experience: I teach and train in Karate, but enjoy to try out different martial arts. By far, and I mean by far, BJJ at the Combat Room is the best class I have tried. Everyone is so respectful, and is more than willing to show you different things. Vanderson runs a superb dojo. I look forward to the next class.

Fantastic experience: On a short work trip to Wellington, Vanderson and the team made me feel truly welcomed. Great hospitality, excellent facilities, and I learned a lot attending the Combat Room. Highly recommended!!

Fantastic experience: Super welcoming and amazing coaching can 100% recommend!!

Fantastic experience: Vanderson gave me a warm welcome as a guest. Even advanced athletes find very good training partners here. Vanderson does a great job here. The school is clean and tidy. Thank you for your hospitality

Fantastic experience: Great atmosphere. Everyone is welcoming and wanting to have fun while they learn

Fantastic experience: I'm a big fan of this amazing gym. Loads of space, top quality mats and an incredibly welcoming culture.

Fantastic experience: Amazing welcome by Vanderson and all the team. Coming from France, I immediatly felt home at Combat Room academy. Perfect environment for training.

Fantastic experience: I do recommend doing Brazilian Jiujitsu. This is a long term investment. In terms of physical health and mental aswell. And it gives aswell confidence in life. Good instructor and clean mats and safe environment to train ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fantastic experience: Combat Room BJJ exceeded my expectations. I have been training here for a year and I highly recommend it for anyone looking to achieve their fitness goals in a supportive environment.

Fantastic experience: Keen to learn a new skill? Keen to get some confidence back? Keen to meet some awesome people? Then the combat room is for you. Lean from the best in the business, Vanderson Pires

Fantastic experience: Cleanest fighting gym I have ever stepped foot in. Great welcoming group of people and an awesome head instructor. Serious about BJJ. Beautiful and well-equipped gym with all the facilities you could want. Highly recommend.

Fantastic experience: Combat Room is a great Jiu Jitsu gym for all levels. It is a positive and encouraging environment but also competitive and will push you to be become the best you can be at submission grappling. If you are looking to compete or just wanting to learn a new skill to stay fit I would highly recommend Combat Room. Very hygienic and lots of mat space!

Fantastic experience: Super clean and efficient training space. Lots of support for beginners with the fundamentals class every day. High caliber of experience with several resident black belts and many colour belts. Vanderson has a highly empathetic and welcoming attitude with great intuition for his student's individual needs

Fantastic experience: Joining was easy and have learned a lot in the classes having never practiced a martial art before. Everyone is friendly so wasn't overwhelming. Helped with getting a GI and having a 24/7 well stocked gym is super helpful. Couldn't really have asked for more

Fantastic experience: The training facility is pretty top tier in terms of cleanliness and space. It has multiple high intensity classes. Throughout the week and a rather kind and caring community. The head trainer Vanderson is a caring guy who supports people of all skill levels, ages and genders into the pursuit of learning more about BJJ. I pay around $60 pw which allows access to all BJJ classes and my costs outside of that have been for gi which can be $180 plus, mouthguard, towel, drink bottle etc. I believe what you learn here is pretty professional and reflects the cost. I recommend this place if you are looking to gain some high level skills, some dramatic fitness change or you are planning to invest long term. I believe this place is also good in supporting a diverse array of genders and identities, especially for an industry that tends to be male dominated. The men here are supportive, and accomodating when needed.

Fantastic experience: The Combat Room came highly recommended to me by my Sensei, 5th degree Douglas Santos. I travel frequently and try to get some mat time in while I'm away for longer than a week. Extremely well located in the heart of Wellington, the Combat Room is everything you would want from a jiu-jitsu school. I can't speak highly enough of Prof. Vandison and the community he has built. Classes were extremely convenient and ran throughout the week. A great mix of techniques with some high level judo stand up. The Combat Room is perfect for all levels of jiu-jitsu. 11 out of 10.

Fantastic experience: Very welcoming gym culture to traveller's. During my travels in New Zealand I based myself in Wellington for a while and contacted Vanderson Pires the gym owner that I was looking for a place to train BJJ. He welcomed me to come for a trial class and see if I liked it. The gym has a big mat space, nice changing rooms and for who wants there is even an area to lift weights. Vanderson holds a high standard to hygiene, and you can see that throughout the whole gym. My favorite part of training at this gym is the safe and friendly environment that Vanderson has created with his students to practice BJJ. Everybody is very friendly, helpful, and encouraging. Two and a half years later I'm still training here multiple times a week with a lot of joy!

Fantastic experience: Fantastic BJJ gym! Hands down the best in Wellington. I am so impressed with the immaculate and beautiful facilities, top of the line equipment, the exceptional skill and expertise of the head coach Vanderson and the warm and inclusive culture that he has created. Highly recommend this gym!

Fantastic experience: This facility, it's high level of coaching, it's care and attention to detail makes it an incredible environment to be a part. Vanderson and all the coaches create a engaging and welcoming place to come where you can learn self defence, the art of Jiujitsu and be part of a strong community with people at it's centre. Highly recommended.

Fantastic experience: Super good class with professional coach. I already study BJJ for 5 months at Combat Room and have a lot harvest. Highly recommend.

Fantastic experience: What an amazing culture Vanderson has invested into this club, sport, and community. The gym and facilities are top notch, making the rolling experience so much more amazing. My son and i agreed we made the best decision to take up the art at Combat Room, we will continue to thrive and learn under the guide of Vanderson and all the very friendly students.

Fantastic experience: Combat Room BJJ is more than a gym. I first trained here in 2013, and since then, despite periods of living and training overseas, I always know where my jiu jitsu home is. Vanderson Pires is world class both as a head-coach and an athlete in the sport and as a result of his decades of hard work, the academy is packed with talented and committed students and coaches. This is also one of the most beginner-friendly gyms I’ve ever trained at, constantly seeing new keen faces coming through the doors, treated like they are the most important people on the mats: our future training partners. Awesome atmosphere, technical training, and pretty epic on-site weightlifting/fitness studio with 24/7 access for those on the S+C plan. Can’t recommend this team highly enough.

Fantastic experience: Vanderson caters to all levels and puts a lot of effort into his students. Really welcoming, safe environment

Fantastic experience: Boom! Combat Room is great. I came up for a few days and asked if I could attend their classes. Vanderson and Brian were welcoming. I learnt so much from the class and will go home to my school revitalised. Brian’s sage knowledge was just what I needed. If you’re looking at starting BJJ or just stopping in for a few days, go here first!

Fantastic experience: Super welcoming. Heaps of fun!

Fantastic experience: I dropped in at Combat room this morning for a roll. This gym is awesome! I had a great training session, Vânderson and all the team are very welcoming. Great techniques and an even better atmosphere! If you are in the Wellington area I’d highly recommend Combat Room for your jiu-jitsu fix!

Fantastic experience: WOW! What a great experience to train with Vanderson and his students this Thursday. Great culture and teaching and really good spread of color belts to roll with. Gym has lots of floor space and well organized. I can recommend booking in a session on your next visit to Wellington. PS. I'm from Coast Academy Silverdale (Auckland), visitors are welcome to pop in for a session as well. See you on the Mats.

Fantastic experience: Came up from Dunedin for work, wanted to drop in. Had a couple sessions. Friendly crowd and all very knowledgeable. Recommend!

Fantastic experience: I really enjoyed the training session at Combat Room. Large mat space, clean facilities, great training partners and overall friendly atmosphere. Vanderson made me feel very welcome as well. I would definitely recommend this gym!

Fantastic experience: Friendly, welcoming group of people The gym is clean, organised and has a wicked weight room also, loved it, will be back

Fantastic experience: I took my first BJJ class at combat room today. I'm blown away by the inclusivity and how much i learnt in 60 minutes. thank you!

Fantastic experience: On a work trip down to Wellington and what better place did I find myself than Combat Room BJJ! Thanks for making me feel super welcome everyone.. see you again in a few weeks!

Fantastic experience: An incredible place to train for grapplers of all sizes, skill and style. The facility is great, I felt very welcome and everyone I trained with was highly skilled and technical.

Fantastic experience: Wonderful gym and a true representation of the jiu jitsu philosophy. Professor Pires is welcoming, warm, inspiring and you can tell he cares about his students on a personal level from the very beginning. Highly recommend going here if you're new or experienced. T thank youoss

Fantastic experience: Great atmosphere, welcoming and respectful skilled practitioners. Vanderson runs very good classes with great content and the best mats I have ever rolled on! OSS

Fantastic experience: Started my BJJ journey with Vanderson and the team at Combat Room in 2022 after a decade of other martial arts. Definitely the best facilities in Wellington and a club culture that is both welcoming, and prioritizes the safety and well being of all members both on and off the mats.

Fantastic experience: Vanderson and the club made my first BJJ experience an awesome one. They were patient and made sure that I felt welcome, taking time to explain and guide me through different moves. I left feeling motivated!

Fantastic experience: I visited the gym while travelling for work. Vanderson is an excellent teacher with a really structured and logical approach to techniques. The gym is really clean and the gym culture is welcoming. Look forward to coming back.

Fantastic experience: Such wonderful people, amazing gym, so full of knowledge and so welcoming. Can't wait to get back there.

Fantastic experience: really cool guy taught me and my teammates some good moves and improved our stamina

Fantastic experience: Vanderson and Dave's attitude, support and training gave myself and others huge confidence and skills that impacts all areas of life. You must leave your comfort zone to move forward in life. This is the place to train, stop considering it and just do it. Thank you

Fantastic experience: Vanderson was really kind and welcoming, as were all of the people there. Clean facility and really good space. Recommend highly!

Fantastic experience: Professor Pires has created a first class Gym in Wellington, with top of the line equipment and mats. Clean facilities in a safe, friendly, caring environment. Always love training in town at Combat Room.

Fantastic experience: Awesome environment ,great people willing to help out beginners ,highly knowledgeable coaches always aware of your safety while teaching techniques, all day classes.Great place either to start learning or to develop your game.

Fantastic experience: As a visiting white belt I was welcomed warmly and also informed clearly of the etiquette and safety protocols leaving no confusion and making me feel instantly comfortable. The club itself is pristine, the students friendly helpful and humble, and professor Vanderson a superb teacher to learn from. Will certainly be back

Fantastic experience: Great gym

Fantastic experience: Both professor Vanderson and the students at the gym have been both welcoming and helpful in starting out with BJJ, highly recommend if you are looking for a place to train.

Fantastic experience: Really good club to train at. Very welcoming atmosphere with well structured lessons.

Fantastic experience: Had a great time in the tester session - Vanderson was awesome and having a tussle on the mats was a great way to relieve stress, but also learn some useful self-defense techniques for women. Highly recommend

Fantastic experience: The club culture is is one in a million and is not only testament to professor Vanderson's quality of instruction and knowledge of the art, but his passion and concern for the welfare of all his students (including past) even outside of the gym environment. Jiujitsu is more than a transaction. Not only do you get instruction, but you get someone genuinely checking to see how you are. Thinking of dropping in? You won't be treated like an outsider. Don't think you need to introduce yourself to everyone, because they will be doing that before you even thought of it. You are bound to take so much away from this club - not just in jiujitsu.

Positive experience: Easy to find. Very professional environment and great training partners

Fantastic experience: Very welcoming and friendly gym. Professor Vanderson has created a great environment that is welcoming to all, He is also an extremely skilled and knowledgeable Brazilian Jiujitsu blackbelt. If you are traveling through or are just looking to start Jiujitsu I recommend you stop by and train here at Combatroom Wellington.

Fantastic experience: Friendly and welcoming environment! Vanderson is a great teacher.

Fantastic experience: The best facility and the best coach in the country.

Fantastic experience: I was visiting Wellington for a few days and was recommended to train with Vanderson Pires by my coach and I was not dissapointed. Having trained at a number of clubs around the world I found the Combat Room to be one of the best gym's I have trained at. The mat space itself was large and very clean with a nice ambience. The class, taught by Vanderson, was extremely good. He broke down some pretty technical moves in to the finer points and although it was only an hours lunchtime class I learnt a lot. The training partners were awesome! (Uri even lent me his gi pants so I could train...legend!) Super friendly bunch who were technical and rolled hard. I would highly recommend training here to anyone. Thank you guy's.

Fantastic experience: I trained at Combat Room for three weeks in March 2020. What can I say? The gym is VERY clean and well maintained. Vanderson is a great teacher and friend. He has created an amazing environment for all levels to come together and get better. The guys (and girls!) at the gym were very nice and made me feel welcome. Looking forward to training with Vanderson again next time I am in Wellington!

Fantastic experience: Great friendly environment. Looking forward to coming back.

Fantastic experience: Awesome respectful and inclusive community, taught by the very skilled prof. Vanderson. Can't recommend this place enough.

Fantastic experience: The club culture is is one in a million and is not only testament to professor Vanderson's quality of instruction and knowledge of the art, but his passion and concern for the welfare of all his students (including past) even outside of the gym environment. Jiujitsu is more than a transaction. Not only do you get instruction, but you get someone genuinely checking to see how you are. Thinking of dropping in? You won't be treated like an outsider. Don't think you need to introduce yourself to everyone, because they will be doing that before you even thought of it. You are bound to take so much away from this club - not just in jiujitsu.

Fantastic experience: Combat room is an amazing and extremely welcoming school of Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu, Prof. Vanderson and the crew there are always happy to help and has built a schedule that suits all experience levels of BJJ from first timers all the way to veterans!

Fantastic experience: A super high level of teaching by Professor Vanderson, welcoming and kind teammates, and a huge focus on personal improvement are all waiting for you at Combat Room. The gym itself is really flash and incredibly clean. I can't recommend this place and the people enough!

Fantastic experience: Combat Room BJJ is awesome. A very welcoming and respectful club with great instructors.

Fantastic experience: High quality training and friendly people. Combat Room is an awesome place to train

Fantastic experience: The best place to start the Jiu Jitsu journey. Knowledge, environment, structure. Pleasure to be part of the family

Fantastic experience: Just recently joined and am loving it ! - the people are welcoming, friendly, and very supportive. The teachers are extremely knowledgable and patient, and take care of you. If you're looking for a new sporting challenge and to meet some terrific people - this is the place for you.

Fantastic experience: Vanderson provides high level instruction in clean and well equipped facility. The team is friendly and the styles are diverse. Great spot to train, highly recommended.

Fantastic experience: I have been training here for a few weeks and it is awesome. Very clean. Very welcoming. Vanderson is a great teacher, the first thing he communicated to me was that the most important thing in the combat room is respect and safety. It is a great learning environment in which he has cultivated a very supportive community. I feel like I have improved a lot just in the short time I have been there.

Fantastic experience: Great environment, class was full on for the kids but held their attention and they are looking forward to going back

Fantastic experience: I absolutely love training here. There is such a positive attitude throughout the members and teachers at the club. Ive trained before at a couple places back home and when I moved here I originally came to the club with the intention of checking out the other gyms in the city but after my first session it felt like home. I truly can't recommend this place more.

Fantastic experience: If you’ve made the effort to look at google reviews, you should make the effort to go in. Best decision you’ll make.

Fantastic experience: The best Brazilian jiu-jitsu school in all of Wellington, head coach Vanderson Pires is a truly skilled individual. If you are looking to start or excel your BJJ I would highly recommend coming to Combat Room.

Fantastic experience: Really awesome atmosphere. Clean environment. Super welcoming people. 5 stars 100 percent recommend for anybody who is thinking about it

Fantastic experience: Highly recommend this gym. Very friendly environment with tough and challenging classes from top class coaches.

Fantastic experience: An excellent facility with the highest level of hygiene, home to a fantastic team with a focus on a strong, safe, and inclusive club culture, lead by head coach Vanderson Pires, one of the most knowledgeable, experienced and capable Jiu Jitsu black belts in the country.

Fantastic experience: i'm backpacker from israel in Wellington and it was a great time i really enjoyed to train with you guys very high level oss!!!

Fantastic experience: Great and safe environment to exercise and learn at the same. Everyone is super friendly and helpful while Vanderson is something else as a teacher and mentor. Would highly recommend for both newcomer and veterans of Bjj.

Fantastic experience: Definitely a gym to visit when you are in Wellington. Great coach, great gym and great team! Oss

Fantastic experience: I really enjoyed my time here at combat room while I was attending for a seminar with Letty Ribeiro and Bia Mesquita. I not only spent time with the best female grapplers in the world, but was blessed to meet the female members of combat room in New Zealand. I am from Los Angeles and if ever I move to New Zealand I will be training here without a doubt. Efficient technical grapplers with no risk of injury because they are well trained grapplers and do both gi and no gi. I have made friends in New Zealand and have only recommended them to train here because I know it is a safe, clean, friendly environment for all. They’re the best! Must train here if you’re ever in New Zealand and then go to the cool antique store next door or check out the Chinese Bakery down the street. The coffee and sandwich shop bellow is a plus because you can easily go get lunch between classes or after work and straight to class! You’ll have fun here and feel like you’re in a true Jiu Jitsu environment with friendly faces. Thank you Combat Room BJJ for having me! I will be back! :)

Fantastic experience: I highly recommend this place to train at. Vanderson has established a very welcoming and pleasant environment to train Jiujitsu. The athletes that train there have got some serious skill. No doubt due to the high quality teaching methods and structure of the classes that Vanderson has put in place. Clean and modern facilities, clean mats, change rooms and friendly feel to the place. Thanks Vanderson!

Fantastic experience: You should train here if you can welcoming environment and top of the line instruction.

Fantastic experience: Had a great time here. Prof. Vanderson and all his students were very kind and welcoming. Huge training space, bright and fresh inside. Open mat class; I was shown a couple things which were straightforward enough that I can still remember them 24 hours later, and expect to be able to put them to good use once I'm back at my home gym. I look forward to dropping in again during my next trip to NZ!

Fantastic experience: Great place to train. Very friendly inclusive club

Fantastic experience: Real great guys and super friendly. Couldn't have been made to feel more welcome. Such a great teacher and a great work out. I highly recommend.

Fantastic experience: This is a great academy to train at. Excellent facilities, a highly skilled black belt teaching the classes, and a great team vibe. Highly recommended!

Fantastic experience: Travelers -- this is the place to train in Wellington! It has all the right ingredients for a drop-in: clean mats, friendly people and instructors, a diversity of training partners, and seriously good Jiu Jitsu. Vanderson greeted me with a smile and paired me up with someone right away. It was footlock day and he showed a super interesting controlling position I had never seen before (it is still blowing my mind a bit). Once it was time to roll, we started with positional sparring (2 minutes of only footlocks, starting from top or bottom), then normal rolling for 6 minute rounds. I was hungry for more and stayed on the mats with someone else for another roll after class. All the while, everyone was super friendly and welcoming, and the training was for real. Sometimes when you travel and train, you miss one or the other: maybe the training isn't so serious, or maybe it's *too* serious and everyone roughs up the new guy. This was neither, and so it was perfect. There was also a nice mix of sizes and skills on the mats: I'm a 5'11" 160lbs (~180cm, 72kg) purple belt and was able to train with people who were bigger than me and smaller than me and more experienced than me and less experienced than me. And there were probably a dozen people or more on the mats, which is a nice turnout for a place the size of Welly! I did notice that there were no women on the mats, in case that's something that female travelers want to know. But there were plenty of smaller guys, which isn't the same obviously but at least might help! It's also a little hard to find -- the address on the Internet is right, but there's not really a sign outside so you have to walk into the lobby of the building and see that it's on the second floor. Not a problem, just something to know in case you worry that you showed up to the wrong address! In short: this is just like your gym back home, just in the South Pacific! Train here.

Fantastic experience: I went to the Wellington to watch a soccer game (NZ vs Peru) and spend the weekend hanging around this unique city. Being able to roll was definitely the highlight of my trip besides the game and what a nice group of people I met in the Combat Room including Master Vanderson Pires himself. The mat surface area is immense and the lay back attitude of the players made the open mat session an unforgettable experience for me. I also felt that my Brazilian Ju Jitsu improved one huge step being exposed to so many different styles in the couple of hours I spend in there. oss

Fantastic experience: Super friendly and welcoming. Trained a day while I was working in Wellington and the team there were very hospitable . And I learnt heaps too! Thank again

Fantastic experience: the BEST BJJ club in NEW ZEALAND!!! 100% go

Fantastic experience: Real great guys and super friendly. Couldn't have been made to feel more welcome. Such a great teacher and a great work out. I highly recommend.

Fantastic experience: Good afternoon. I want to congratulate you for your YouTube videos. For when one for children 6 years.Curriculum yellow white belt? MANY THANKS.

Fantastic experience: Very friendly atmosphere. Super knowledgeable and practical technique. Some great high level guys here along with good beginners and intermediates. Very welcoming to travelers.

Fantastic experience: Good afternoon. I want to congratulate you for your YouTube videos. For when one for children 6 years.Curriculum yellow white belt? MANY THANKS.

Fantastic experience: Great place to practice BJJ and learn well those wonderful ground techniques. Vanderson Sensei gives full assistance to the beginners and teach us how to find the best angles to defend and attach. Thinking about doing BJJ , think Combat Room!