Legacy
Sorriso has been teaching Auckland since 2006. Everyone who ties on a white belt at Botany joins that line.
Three Black Belts. One Family.
Sorriso BJJ was founded in Auckland in 2006 by Paulo Oliveira. Twenty years on, Paulo and two of the black belts he promoted, Spiro Kovac and Bruno Maciel, lead the coaching at our newest academy in Botany Town Centre.
sorriso
so-HEE-zoo noun, Portuguese
- A smile.
- The nickname of Paulo Oliveira.
- Since 2006, the name above the door.
Paulo Oliveira
Paulo Oliveira is the reason there is a Sorriso BJJ. Originally from Brazil, he founded the academy in Auckland in 2006 and has led it ever since.
Today Paulo is head coach of the whole Sorriso team, across Mount Eden, St Johns and now Botany. Both of the black belts who coach alongside him at Botany, Spiro Kovac and Bruno Maciel, earned their belts from him.
His work reaches well past our own mats. Paulo is President of the Sport Jiu-Jitsu Federation New Zealand, which puts him at the centre of how the sport is organised in this country.
- Rank
- Black belt
- Role
- Founder and head coach, Sorriso BJJ
- Founded Sorriso
- 2006
- From
- Brazil
- Also
- President, Sport Jiu-Jitsu Federation New Zealand
Our Lineage. From Japan to Botany.
In jiu-jitsu a black belt is handed from teacher to student, so it matters who tied yours. Ours runs from Mitsuyo Maeda, who carried the art from Japan to Brazil, through the Gracie family to Paulo. Paulo then promoted both of the black belts who coach beside him at Botany.
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01
Mitsuyo Maeda
A Japanese judoka and prize fighter who settled in Belém, Brazil, and began teaching there.
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02
Carlos Gracie
Learned the art in Belém as a teenager and took it to Rio de Janeiro, where the Gracie family shaped Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
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03
Carlson Gracie
Carlos's son. A champion fighter who became one of the sport's great coaches and founded the Carlson Gracie Team.
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04
Carlos "Bagana" Lima
Paulo's teacher, and the link between the Carlson Gracie line and Sorriso.
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05
Paulo "Sorriso" Oliveira
Founded Sorriso BJJ in Auckland in 2006 and Co-founder and head coach at Sorriso BJJ Botany.
Read his story -
06
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06
Spiro Kovac
Spiro Kovac earned his black belt from Paulo Oliveira, and he still tests it against the best in the world.
In 2025 he won the SJJIF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship. In 2026 he won the New Zealand Gi title and came home from the Worlds in Tokyo with two silver medals in the Master 2 division: one under 100 kg and one in the Absolute, the open-weight bracket where every size meets.
At Botany that experience turns into detail. Students learn what holds up under pressure, how to prepare for a hard round, and how to lose one and come back for the next.
Black Belt Competition Record
| Year | Event | Division | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | SJJIF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Tokyo | Master 2 · −100 kg · Gi | Silver |
| 2026 | SJJIF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Tokyo | Master 2 · Absolute · Gi | Silver |
| 2026 | SJJFNZ New Zealand Open 2026, Auckland | Master 2 · −100 kg · Gi | Champion |
| 2025 | SJJIF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Tokyo | Master 2 · −100 kg · Gi | World champion |
Bruno Maciel
Bruno Maciel leads the kids classes at Sorriso BJJ Botany, and he is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's best kids coaches.
A black belt under Paulo Oliveira, Bruno has the rare skill of holding the attention of a room full of six-year-olds while still teaching real technique. Children in his classes learn to listen, to look after their partner and to keep trying when a move doesn't work the first time.
Bruno also teaches on the adult mats, so parents who start training often find themselves learning from the same coach as their children.
- Rank
- Black belt under Paulo Oliveira
- Leads
- Little Cubs, Cubs, Little Lions and Lions
- Also teaches
- Adult classes
Legacy. Loyalty. Authenticity.
Loyalty
You need a partner to train. Here you get a team, and it turns up for you on the hard days as well as the good ones.
Authenticity
Every class is taught in the gi, by black belts, and every stripe and belt is earned on the mat.
Three Academies. One Team.
Botany is the newest Sorriso academy. It teaches the same jiu-jitsu, to the same standard, as the two that came before it.
Come and Meet Them. Your First Class Is Free.
The best way to judge a coach is to take their class. Book a free trial for yourself or your child, train with the group that fits, and ask us anything afterwards.
Sorriso BJJ Botany, 7/11D Town Centre Drive, Botany Town Centre. Brazilian jiu-jitsu for kids and adults in Botany, Dannemora, Flat Bush, Howick, Pakuranga and across East Auckland.