A Sensei calmly packing away equipment after class in a warm timber dojo at golden hour, while a family waits nearby.

The operating system for martial arts academies

More time on the mats.

Kihon handles the admin, follow-up, attendance, payments, events and compliance that keep a dojo running, so you can spend your evenings teaching, not chasing.

Join the early access list See how it works

Early access opening 2026. Be first on the mat.

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The hidden work

The hardest part of running a dojo often happens after class.

Trial follow-up

Missed payments

Attendance

Grading lists

Parent messages

Blue Cards

Instructor availability

Event promotion

Curriculum progress

Students drifting away

Failed direct debits

Roster gaps

A dojo office desk after class, covered in attendance sheets, grading paperwork and notebooks under a single warm lamp.

You already do the hard part. You teach people. Kihon handles the rest.

A Sensei standing confidently in the dojo, with soft translucent silhouettes behind them suggesting unseen support.

A calmer way to run the dojo

What if your dojo had digital staff?

Not more software to manage. A quiet digital workforce that handles the work between classes: it spots what needs doing, drafts a response, and waits for your nod before anything is sent.

We do not automate Sensei. We automate the work around them.

Meet the team

Six digital employees, working under your rules.

Each one knows what to watch, what it can do on its own, and exactly when to ask you. Serious roles, not chatbots.

A Sensei warmly greeting a parent and a nervous white-belt child at the dojo reception.

Receptionist

Front desk, handled

WatchesEnquiries, trial bookings, missed trials

DoesSends reminders, books trials, follows up

EscalatesSensitive replies, bulk messages

A calm, organised dojo office — membership folders, a closed laptop and tea on the desk.

Membership Officer

Healthy memberships

WatchesOnboarding, payments, renewals

DoesChases failed payments, nudges renewals

EscalatesPauses, discounts, overdue accounts

An instructor calmly reviewing certifications and paperwork in a clean, professional dojo setting.

Compliance Officer

Nothing expires unnoticed

WatchesBlue Cards, insurance, first aid

DoesFlags expiries, requests evidence

EscalatesRestricting an instructor from teaching

Grading day — families arriving as coloured belts are laid out neatly on a timber bench.

Events Coordinator

Full gradings & seminars

WatchesGradings, seminars, camps, tournaments

DoesPromotes events, sends reminders

EscalatesPricing and capacity changes

A senior Sensei patiently mentoring a younger instructor through a technique on the tatami.

Instructor Coordinator

Rosters without the back-and-forth

WatchesAvailability, competency, class needs

DoesDrafts rosters, matches instructors

EscalatesFinal roster approval

Families sharing a barbecue after grading at dusk, with children in gis playing together.

Retention Specialist

Catches families before they go

WatchesAttendance patterns, engagement

DoesSurfaces risk, prompts timely follow-up

EscalatesPersonal outreach from Sensei

You stay in control

AI does not run your dojo. Your rules do.

For every action, you decide: automatic, approval required, human only, or off. A good assistant knows when to act. A better one knows when to ask.

Receptionist

Send trial remindersAutomatic

Book a trial classAutomatic

Send a bulk messageApproval

Issue a refundOff

Membership Officer

Failed payment reminderAutomatic

Pause a membershipApproval

Offer a discountApproval

Delete a studentOff

Action requested checked against your policy

AutomaticExecute, then record it in the audit log.

Approval requiredHold, and ask the owner first.

Human onlyNotify and explain. Never act alone.

OffStop. This isn't allowed here.

Under the hood

The AI never gets the keys to the dojo.

Smart enough to help. Not trusted enough to bypass the rules. AI can only ask for approved actions, and each request faces the same checks a person would.

Not Kihon

AI→Database

Direct access. Unaudited. Unsafe.

Kihon

AI→Approved tool→Business rules→Database→Audit log

The same rules a human would face, every time.

One safe way to act

One business action. One implementation.

Whether a request comes from a button, an iPad, a parent's phone, a digital employee or a connected AI assistant, it travels the same path. No duplicate logic. No AI backdoors.

Web app

iPad sign-in

Parent app

Digital employee

AI assistant

Automation

PromoteStudentthe one approved business action

Curriculum rulespermission · tenant · policy checks

StudentPromotedevent + permanent audit record

Just ask

Connect an AI assistant and ask your dojo a question

You can connect an assistant you already use (like ChatGPT or Claude) to Kihon, then ask about your academy in plain English. It can only reach the same safe, approved actions everything else uses, so it can look things up and draft a reply for you, but it can never step around your rules. The open standard that makes this possible is called MCP.

“Which students have missed the last three weeks?”

“Who's ready to grade for their next belt?”

“Which instructors have a Blue Card expiring soon?”

Every answer respects your permissions, is recorded in the same audit log, and you can switch the connection off whenever you like.

A week in the life

Quietly, in the background.

MonInstructor availability requested; a draft roster is prepared.

TueA trial student attends; their parent receives a warm welcome message.

WedA failed payment is quietly followed up, no awkward conversation needed.

ThuGrading candidates are identified for the next belt test.

FriA Blue Card renewal is flagged before it lapses.

SatEvent reminders go out for next month's seminar.

SunYou receive a calm weekly summary, nothing missed.

A wide dojo scene showing the journey from a child enrolling at reception through coloured belts to a black belt with a staff.

The student journey

From first enquiry to black belt, Kihon keeps the journey moving.

Along the way the admin is handled quietly, so the milestones get the attention.

Enquiry

Receptionist replies and books a trial

Trial

Parent receives a welcome message

Member

Onboarding completed, payment set up

Attendance

Sign-ins tracked on the iPad

Curriculum

Progress recorded against the syllabus

Grading

Flagged as ready for the next belt

Junior Sensei

Begins assisting younger classes

Black belt

A milestone years in the making

Start simple, grow later

Like karate, Kihon starts with the fundamentals.

One product, made of modules you switch on as the dojo grows: the basics first, the rest when you're ready. The product grows like a student progresses.

01Day one

The fundamentals

StudentsFamiliesClassesAttendancePaymentsPortal

02When ready

Add the depth

CurriculumGradingsEvents

03As you scale

The intelligence layer

InsightsRetentionReports

04Opt-in

Turn on AI — only when you choose

Daily briefDigital staffAssistant access

Built for real dojos

Your dojo's fundamentals, handled.

Everything a working academy needs, on one calm, governed foundation.

Students & families

One trustworthy roster: ranks, families, guardians and encrypted medical notes, all in one place.

Leads & enquiries

Capture every enquiry, move it through the trial pipeline, and convert in one click.

Attendance & check-in

An offline-first iPad kiosk and QR sign-in, with class capacity that just works.

Classes & scheduling

Model your own programs and generate a whole term's timetable in minutes.

Curriculum & grading

Belt ladders, automatic grading readiness, grading days and full rank history.

Payments & billing

Stripe subscriptions with live status and gentle, governed failed-payment follow-up.

Communication

Consent-aware email and SMS, with a working one-click unsubscribe built in.

Events & seminars

Gradings, camps and tournaments with registration, capacity and waitlists.

Compliance

Working-with-Children and first-aid expiry, tracked and flagged well before they lapse.

Reporting

Retention, attendance, the lead funnel and revenue: the numbers that actually matter.

Parent & student portal

Families see their own schedule, attendance and payments, and only their own.

Private & secure

Every academy walled off in its own isolated, fully audited workspace.

An empty dojo at dusk — clean tatami, belts stored neatly, a pair of sandals by the entrance.

The purpose of Kihon is not to teach karate. It is to give you more time to.

Kihon is launching soon. Join the early access list and help shape a calmer way to run your dojo.

A calmer office. A stronger dojo floor. No spam, just the occasional, considered update.