They Stopped Chasing Support and Started Running Their Dojo
7 YEARS IN BUSINESS
3000 SQ FT TRAINING FACILITY
3 TRAINING ROOMS, EXPANDED FROM ONE
281 ACTIVE MEMBERS AND COUNTING
Two Paths. One Dojo.
Chris Knight started Taekwondo in 2003—walked into a new school in high school, got invited in for a free week, and never stopped. Brian Foster took a longer road: trained under Master Chung in California, spent a decade as an Air Force Pararescueman, picked up Muay Thai in Thailand and Wing Chun in Fayetteville, then walked into King Tiger to enroll his son and got handed a uniform himself. Together they co-founded King Tiger Harrisburg in 2019.
Their philosophy hasn’t changed since day one: start and end with respect.
Their Old Software Left Them Out to Dry
King Tiger’s previous software had one answer for every problem: no. High processing fees, slow support, and zero willingness to improve. When something broke, nobody helped. When Knight and Foster asked for changes, the response was always the same—this is what we do, we’re not changing.
Every hour spent chasing support was an hour off the mat.
“A lot of the software companies out there—this is what we do, this is what we’re doing, we’re not changing.”
A Software Provider That Actually Listens
Foster found Gymdesk online and made the call. The difference wasn’t just the features—it was the response. Real people, fast answers, and a product that visibly improved. Square integration brought low processing fees and full billing transparency. Text messaging reached students who never opened email. And when Gymdesk updated the scheduling page, Knight noticed immediately.
The business side got quieter. The mat got louder.
The Operational Shift
Without the Right Tools
- Support requests met with silence
- “We’re not changing” from vendor
- High processing fees eating margin
- Emails students never opened
- Belt tracking buried in admin
- Business admin pulling owners off the mat
With Gymdesk
- Instant reply from a real person
- Regular product updates, responsive roadmap
- Low fees through Square integration
- Texts that actually reach families
- Promotions organized, filterable, visible
- Operations quiet enough to stay on the mat
Harrisburg Runs Five Minutes Deep
Most King Tiger students live five to seven minutes away. Parents who show up as strangers leave as neighbors—sometimes walking next door to have a beer together after class. Kids who came in nervous find kids from their own school. Families learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s a tight community, and the dojo is at the center of it.
The goal was never just Taekwondo. It was this.
“A lot of the software companies out there—this is what we do, this is what we’re doing, we’re not changing.”
“Every time I had a problem, I’d reach out. Boom. I get an instant reply from a human saying, ‘Hey, totally get that—we’re working on that right now.’”
Run Your Academy. Not Your Inbox.
Gymdesk handles the admin so you can stay on the mat.
