About Ground Standard
One company, four ways to grow a martial arts school.
Ground Standard runs growth for martial arts schools: the marketing, the operations, the technology and the gear, run by one team to one standard. It started inside real schools, on the mats and at the front desk, and it still works that way.
How it came about01
It started with what happens when someone who knows both the mat and the business is in the building.
When a person who understood martial arts and understood marketing was physically inside a school, the school grew. The phone got answered. Trials got booked and followed up. Pricing made sense. The owner got to teach. The question Ground Standard was built to answer was how to give a school that same presence from a distance.
The answer became a method: a standing rhythm of communication and strategy sessions with the owner, backed by a team that runs the marketing, the follow-up and the operations behind the scenes. It was refined school by school, from paper appointment books and spreadsheets to the software Ground Standard builds today.
Along the way the agency worked with academies owned by members of the Gracie family and UFC veterans, helped schools open second locations, and learned what holds up across styles, cities and sizes. That body of knowledge is the standard in the name.
Today02
Five companies. One standard.
Each one stands on its own. Together they cover everything a school needs to grow, run, start, be found and be outfitted.
Ground Standard Agency
Marketing, operations, retention and automation for martial arts schools, run by one team on one standard.
See the AgencyKeppan
Membership software built for martial arts: billing, memberships, scheduling, belts and ranks.
keppan.comMore Students Less Work
The managed lead system: AI follow-up, live concierge and trial booking for schools that want the system without the full agency.
morestudentslesswork.comTry A Martial Art
The student directory: it helps people find a school and helps schools find students.
tryamartialart.comGXGS
The gear brand: own-brand gis, rashguards and shorts, wholesale for schools, custom competitor gear and storefronts in a school's name.
gxgs.coAfter Hours
Conversations with the owners, coaches and operators who run martial arts schools.
ListenHow we work03
The same system for every school.
One standard, every client
Every school gets the same system: a GS Pro account, a standing rhythm of strategy calls, AI follow-up the moment a lead comes in, backed by live concierge from 8am to 10pm ET on weekdays with messaging on weekends.
A term, not a transaction
Agency partnerships run on a set term so the system has time to work, with a renewal conversation before it ends. Ad spend and fees are set out in the agreement.
Verified results only
No invented numbers. Every claim on this site traces to a real school, and case studies name the school and show the figures only with the owner's permission.
Built in New Jersey, working nationwide
Ground Standard is based in Red Bank, New Jersey, and works with schools across the United States, from a single room to multiple locations.
The founder04
About Ground Standard
Bobby Freda is a martial artist of more than 30 years who has worked, taught and trained in martial arts schools for most of that time. He founded Ground Standard to do remotely what he had seen work in person, and he still leads the strategy sessions, the standard and the team.
He hosts After Hours, the Ground Standard podcast with the people who run martial arts schools.
Questions05
About Ground Standard
What is Ground Standard?
Ground Standard Agency runs marketing, operations, retention and automation for martial arts schools, with one team responsible for the whole system. It is part of the Ground Standard family with Keppan, More Students Less Work, Try A Martial Art and GXGS.
Is Ground Standard an agency or a software company?
Both. The Agency runs marketing, operations, retention and automation for schools. Keppan is the membership software, More Students Less Work the managed lead system, Try A Martial Art the student directory and GXGS the gear brand.
Where is Ground Standard based?
Red Bank, New Jersey, with clients across the United States.
Who runs Ground Standard?
Founder Bobby Freda, a martial artist of more than 30 years, with the Ground Standard team.
Which martial arts does Ground Standard work with?
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA, Muay Thai, boxing, kickboxing, judo, taekwondo, karate, aikido, kung fu and krav maga schools, from a single room to multiple locations. See marketing by discipline.
One team. One standard. The whole system.
Marketing, operations, retention and automation for martial arts schools, run by one team on one standard.