The video library is great for my students. They can review techniques at home and come to class much more prepared.
Mathias Ribeiro
Mathias Ribeiro Team
Karate management software for dojos
Track kyu and dan grades, organize your kata curriculum, register attendance, and collect fees in one place. MatGoat adapts to Shotokan, Goju-Ryu, Shito-Ryu, Wado-Ryu, Kyokushin, and any other style your dojo teaches.
- 30-day free trial
- No credit card required
- Set up in under 15 minutes
Used by working academies
Martial arts academy owners run their daily operations with MatGoat
MatGoat started inside a BJJ academy and was built by a practitioner who understands the work behind every class. Meet the person behind the software.
The challenges of managing a Karate dojo
These are the problems karate instructors mention most often when they come to us
Multiple styles with different requirements
Shotokan, Goju-Ryu, Shito-Ryu, Wado-Ryu, Kyokushin... each style has its own kata list, its own belt colors, and its own grading rules. Generic software forces every dojo into the same template.
Extensive kata curriculum
A student preparing for 6th kyu needs different kata than one preparing for shodan. Tracking who should practice Heian Nidan and who should polish Bassai Dai gets harder on paper every year.
Bunkai and applications
Advanced students study bunkai for each kata. Notes about applications, partner work, and correction points end up scattered across notebooks and chat threads.
Kids classes and busy parents
Children fill most dojo schedules. Parents want to know when the next belt test happens, how often their child trains, and what they should practice at home.
Belt tests and exam fees
Each grading period means checking attendance minimums, confirming who is ready, collecting exam fees, and updating dozens of records by hand.
Federation licenses and paperwork
Annual licenses, insurance, and federation membership numbers add another layer of records that a spreadsheet handles poorly.
What karate dojo software should actually do
Most dojo owners we talk to run their school with a paper attendance sheet, a spreadsheet for payments, and a group chat for announcements. That system works until it does not. Somewhere around 60 or 70 students, instructors start losing track of who has paid, who is ready for their next kyu exam, and which students quietly stopped showing up three weeks ago.
Generic gym software promises to fix this, but it was designed for fitness clubs. It can bill a membership and book a spin class. It has no concept of a grading syllabus, no way to organize kata videos by belt level, and no rank history beyond a custom text field. Karate-specific management software starts from the other direction: grades, curriculum, and attendance come first, and billing is built around them.
The difference matters more as a dojo grows. With 30 students you can hold everything in your head. With 120 students across six weekly classes and three age groups, every administrative task multiplies: several grading periods per year, dozens of licenses to renew each January, and a waiting list for the kids class. Software should absorb that growth instead of adding to it.
MatGoat gives every student a profile with their complete rank history, from their first class as a white belt to their dan grades. Attendance is registered on a tablet at the door and separated by class type, so you can confirm a student meets your minimum training requirement before you schedule their exam. Your kata curriculum lives in a private video library organized by grade, so a 5th kyu student sees exactly the kata and kihon they need for their next test and nothing above their level.
Payments run through the same system. Monthly fees are collected by direct debit with no commission, and exam fees, licenses, or equipment charges are recorded on the student profile. When a family has two or three children training, parents manage everything from one account. The result is less time with the spreadsheet and more time teaching.
The sections below show how this works in practice, including transparent pricing in dollars and a direct comparison with generic gym platforms. If you prefer to see every feature listed by plan, the pricing page has the complete breakdown.
Explore martial arts management software for multi-discipline academies
How MatGoat helps your dojo
Features designed for Karate academies
SOLUTION #1
Customizable grading system by style
Configure the exact kyu and dan structure your dojo uses, from 10th kyu to 10th dan, with the belt colors and requirements of your style or federation. Record each exam with its date, promote students with one click, and keep the full grading history of every karateka. Students see their current grade and progress in the app.
Kyu and dan grades for any style
Exam dates and promotion history
Alerts when students are due to grade
SOLUTION #2
Attendance control with a free tablet
We include a tablet configured for your dojo. Students check in by tapping their photo when they walk in, and the history separates kids classes, adult classes, kata practice, and kumite sessions. Before each grading period, open a profile and see exactly how many classes a student attended since their last exam.
SOLUTION #3
Kata and bunkai video library
Record kata the way you teach them and upload them to collections organized by grade: Heian Shodan with your 8th kyu group, Bassai Dai with your brown belts, bunkai studies with dan candidates. Students only see content for their level or below, so everyone knows what to practice before the next test.
Collections keep each kata with the grade that needs it, and students only see their level.
SOLUTION #4
Payments without commissions
Collect monthly fees by direct debit and record exam fees, annual licenses, and equipment purchases in the same place. MatGoat takes no commission on your collections, so a dojo with 80 students keeps every fee in full. Automatic reminders go out when a receipt fails or a family falls behind.
The payments dashboard shows collected fees, pending receipts, and membership plans at a glance.
SOLUTION #5
Communication with students and parents
Send announcements to the whole dojo, a message to the kids group before a belt test, or a private note to one family. Messages arrive by email and push notification in the app, so schedule changes and exam dates stop getting lost in chat threads.
Academy-wide announcements
Messages for specific groups
Email and push notifications
SOLUTION #6
Attendance analytics and retention
The dashboard shows which classes fill up, how attendance moves across the year, and which students are fading before they disappear. A karateka who trained three times a week and now comes once is a conversation you want to have this week, and the statistics surface that change early.
Class statistics and attendance streaks help you spot fading students early.
Set up your dojo in an afternoon
Most dojos are running MatGoat the same day they sign up.
1
Create your account
Start the 30-day free trial with your email address. No credit card is required during the trial.
2
Import your students
Upload your student list from a CSV file or add students by hand. Each karateka gets a profile with their grade and contact details.
3
Configure grades and classes
Set up your style's kyu and dan structure, belt colors, and class schedule: kids, adults, kata, kumite, and competition team.
4
Put the tablet at the door
When you subscribe, we ship a tablet configured for your dojo. Students tap their photo to check in, and attendance records itself from day one.
Main features
Everything you need to manage your academy
MatGoat vs generic gym software
Fitness platforms can bill a membership. The differences show up in everything a dojo does beyond billing.
| MatGoat | Generic gym software | |
|---|---|---|
| Rank tracking | Kyu and dan grades with full promotion history | Custom text fields at best |
| Technique videos | Private library organized by grade | Not included, or a paid add-on |
| Attendance hardware | Free tablet with check-in by class type | Usually costs extra |
| Payment commissions | 0% on all collections | Often 1% to 4% per transaction |
| Belt test preparation | Attendance and grade history in one view | Manual cross-checking |
| Family accounts | Parents manage children from one login | Varies by platform |
| Setup | Under 15 minutes with CSV import | Onboarding calls and setup fees |
| Monthly price | $40 to $60, listed publicly | Quote-based pricing is common |
Comparing specific platforms? See how MatGoat stacks up against Kicksite, Martialytics, and other alternatives.
Testimonials
What our academies say about MatGoat
What I value most is how easy it is. I'm not tech-savvy at all and in one day I had everything set up and running.
Julio César Alves
JC Fight Team
We tried several platforms before and none of them fit a martial arts academy. MatGoat is built for us.
Frank
Next Level BJJ
Transparent pricing for your dojo
Two plans, both with the check-in tablet included and no payment commissions. Prices in US dollars.
Basic
For dojos with up to 50 students
$40 /month
- Tablet for student check-in
- Attendance history by class type
- Kyu and dan grade tracking
- Private video library for kata and bunkai
- Event calendar for belt tests and seminars
- Messages to students and parents
Popular
Professional
For growing dojos, with no student limit
$60 /month
- Everything in the Basic plan
- Unlimited students
- Payment management by direct debit
- 0% commission on collections
- Priority chat support
30-day free trial · No credit card required to start · 30-day money-back guarantee · VAT not included
Guides and tools for dojo owners
Practical reading and free tools from the MatGoat team.
The 10 best martial arts gym management platforms
An honest comparison of the main options, including where MatGoat fits and where it does not.
Free class schedule generator
Build a printable weekly schedule for your dojo in minutes.
Student tracking guide
How to track attendance, progress, and retention without drowning in spreadsheets.
Payments and billing guide
Recurring fees, failed receipts, and how to stop chasing payments every month.
MatGoat vs Kicksite
A detailed comparison with one of the most established martial arts platforms.
How Mathias Ribeiro Team automated attendance
A customer story about replacing manual check-ins with the tablet.
Frequently asked questions
Have other questions? Contact us
Yes. MatGoat is fully customizable. Configure the number of kyu grades, the dan structure, belt colors, and the specific requirements of Shotokan, Goju-Ryu, Shito-Ryu, Wado-Ryu, Kyokushin, or your federation's own system. If your dojo uses intermediate stripes or split grades for children, those fit too. Nothing about the grading model is fixed in advance.
You create collections by grade, for example 'Kyu 6 - Heian Nidan', and upload the corresponding videos. Students only access content for their level or below, so a beginner is never overwhelmed by advanced material. Instructors can also build separate collections for kihon, kumite drills, and competition preparation, and reorder everything as the curriculum evolves.
Yes. Each student profile accepts private instructor notes, so you can record bunkai progress, correction points from the last class, and what to review before an exam. Notes stay visible only to instructors. Combined with the grade history, they give you a complete picture of each student when grading season arrives.
Yes. Configure separate ranks, class types, and technical video collections for each style you teach. A dojo offering Shotokan for adults and a Kyokushin-based kids program keeps both curriculums organized in the same account, with each student assigned to the right grading path and schedule.
Yes. MatGoat records each student's attendance by class type, so before a belt test you can review a clear training history alongside your technical requirements. If your dojo requires a minimum number of classes between grades, the profile shows the exact count since the last exam, with no manual tallying.
MatGoat costs $40 per month for dojos with up to 50 students and $60 per month for unlimited students. Both plans include the check-in tablet and the video library. There are no setup fees, no per-student charges, and no commission on payments. You can try everything free for 30 days without a credit card.
Yes. Parents link their children's profiles to one account, check attendance, receive announcements, and handle everything for the family from a single login. This matters in karate, where kids often make up more than half of the student list and most communication happens with parents rather than students.
Yes. Add custom fields to student profiles for license numbers, federation membership, insurance dates, or medical notes. When renewal season arrives, you review every student's status from one list instead of digging through folders and email attachments.
Export your student list to a CSV file and import it into MatGoat. Most dojos complete the initial setup in under 15 minutes. The team is available by WhatsApp and email during the move, and a video call is available if you want help configuring your grading system or class schedule. Your data stays yours, and you can export it again at any time.
Yes. Create separate kids classes with their own schedule and attendance history, set grading paths appropriate for each age group, and send messages to parents instead of students. The attendance history shows each child's classes since their last belt test, which is usually the first thing parents ask about.
Modernize your Karate dojo management
Software that respects tradition but embraces technology. Try free for 30 days.