7 Must-Have AI Course Builders for Martial Arts

Thinkific has become a staple platform for educators looking to launch online courses with minimal technical overhead. It offers a drag‑and‑drop course builder that lets instructors upload videos, PDFs, and quizzes without writing code. Thinkific’s course pages are fully customizable, allowing you to match the look and feel of your dojo or brand. Students can progress through modules at their own pace, while instructors can track completion rates and quiz scores via the built‑in analytics dashboard. Thinkific also supports drip content, so you can release lessons over time to keep students engaged. For martial arts teachers, this means you can publish step‑by‑step tutorials, practice drills, and live‑session recordings, providing a structured learning path that mirrors in‑person training. The platform’s built‑in marketing tools—including email campaigns, coupon codes, and affiliate management—help instructors monetize their content and grow their community. Thinkific also integrates with popular payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, and Authorize.net, making it straightforward to accept payments for courses, memberships, or private coaching sessions. While Thinkific offers a basic free tier, most advanced features are available in the Pro ($49/month) and Pro Plus ($199/month) plans, which unlock additional storage, marketing automation, and the ability to create unlimited courses. Pros: - Intuitive drag‑and‑drop course builder - Built‑in marketing and affiliate tools - Strong analytics and completion tracking - Flexible pricing tiers for different business sizes - Robust integrations with Stripe, PayPal, Zapier Cons: - No native AI chat or knowledge base - Limited to text and video content; no live video streaming - No persistent memory across sessions - Requires manual content updates for new material Best for: Individual instructors and small academies that want a straightforward, no‑code platform to host and sell courses with built‑in marketing tools.

Teachable is a popular platform that empowers educators to create, market, and sell online courses with minimal technical hassle. Its intuitive course editor lets instructors upload video lessons, PDFs, and quizzes, then organize them into modules and chapters. Teachable’s course pages are responsive and can be customized with your brand’s colors, fonts, and logo, ensuring a consistent look across all student touchpoints. The platform also offers a built‑in checkout system, allowing you to sell courses, memberships, or coaching packages directly to students. For martial arts teachers, Teachable’s discussion forum and Q&A features provide a space for students to ask questions and share progress, mirroring the community feel of a physical dojo. Teachable also integrates with email marketing tools such as Mailchimp and ConvertKit, and offers affiliate program management to help you grow your student base through referrals. Pricing starts at $29/month for the Basic plan, which includes unlimited courses and students, but limits you to a single payment gateway. The Professional plan ($99/month) adds unlimited payment gateways, coupon codes, and the ability to sell bundles. The Business plan ($399/month) unlocks advanced features such as custom branding, password protection, and bulk email capabilities. Pros: - Simple, no‑code course creation - Built‑in checkout and coupon system - Discussion forums for student engagement - Affiliate program management - Integration with major email marketing tools Cons: - No AI chat or knowledge base - Limited customizability of the checkout flow - No persistent memory across sessions - Higher price points for advanced features Best for: Martial arts instructors who need a reliable, all‑in‑one platform to host, market, and sell courses with community features.

Kajabi is an all‑in‑one platform that combines course creation, marketing automation, and membership site capabilities into a single interface. Its course builder allows instructors to upload videos, host quizzes, and organize lessons into modules, all without writing code. Kajabi also provides customizable landing pages and email sequences that can be triggered based on student progress, making it easy to nurture leads and encourage course completion. For martial arts schools, Kajabi’s membership site feature enables private coaching portals where students can access video libraries, practice logs, and interactive challenges. The platform’s built‑in CRM and email marketing tools empower instructors to segment students, send targeted follow‑ups, and run automated drip campaigns. Kajabi also offers a robust affiliate management system, allowing you to recruit brand ambassadors from within your student community. Pricing is tiered: Starter at $119/month, Growth at $159/month, and Pro at $199/month. All plans include unlimited courses and students, email marketing, landing pages, and basic automation. The higher tiers unlock advanced automation, custom domain hosting, and more detailed analytics. Pros: - All‑in‑one platform for courses, marketing, and membership - Powerful automation and drip campaigns - Built‑in CRM and affiliate program - Customizable landing pages and email templates - Robust analytics and reporting Cons: - Higher price point compared to other course builders - Steeper learning curve for beginners - Limited support for live video streaming - No native AI chat or knowledge base Best for: Martial arts academies that need a comprehensive solution to host courses, manage memberships, and automate marketing workflows.

Podia positions itself as a simple, all‑in‑one platform for creators who want to sell digital products, courses, and memberships. Its course builder allows instructors to upload video lessons, PDFs, and quizzes, and organize them into a clean, responsive layout. Podia also offers a built‑in email marketing tool, so you can send newsletters and automated sequences to students, and the platform includes an affiliate program to help grow your student base. Martial arts teachers appreciate Podia’s straightforward pricing and the ability to run promotions without complex integrations. The platform’s checkout system supports Stripe and PayPal, making it easy to collect payments for courses or private training packages. Podia also provides a simple membership feature that can be used to create a private training portal for advanced students. Pricing is $39/month for the Core plan, $79/month for the Plus plan (which adds email marketing and affiliate management), and $149/month for the Pro plan (which unlocks unlimited email marketing and custom domain hosting). All plans include unlimited courses and students. Pros: - Simple, intuitive course creation - Built‑in email marketing and affiliate program - Easy payment integration with Stripe and PayPal - Membership feature for private training - Transparent pricing Cons: - Limited customization of the checkout flow - No AI chat or knowledge base - No advanced automation beyond basic email sequences - No live video streaming or webinar support Best for: Small studios or solo instructors who want an affordable, easy‑to‑use platform to sell courses and memberships without a steep learning curve.

LearnWorlds is a course platform that focuses on interactivity and student engagement. Its course editor allows instructors to embed videos, upload PDFs, create quizzes, and add interactive elements such as polls and annotations. LearnWorlds also offers a built‑in video player with built‑in analytics, so you can see how long students watch each lesson. The platform’s “Learning Path” feature lets you structure courses into modules and sub‑modules, while the “Course Builder” provides a drag‑and‑drop interface. For martial arts schools, LearnWorlds’ interactive tools can be used to create practice challenges and quizzes that test technique recall. The platform also supports a membership model, letting you restrict content to paying members. LearnWorlds offers integrations with major email marketing tools and a built‑in affiliate system. Pricing is tiered: Starter at $29/month, Growth at $49/month, and Pro at $79/month. All plans include unlimited courses and students, but only the Pro plan unlocks custom domain hosting, advanced analytics, and the ability to create quizzes with automatic grading. Pros: - Interactive course elements (polls, annotations, quizzes) - Video analytics show student engagement - Membership and subscription options - Built‑in affiliate program - Integration with email marketing Cons: - Slightly higher learning curve for advanced features - No native AI chat or knowledge base - Limited support for live streaming - No persistent memory across sessions Best for: Martial arts instructors who want highly interactive courses and detailed engagement analytics.

Udemy is a large marketplace where instructors can publish courses and reach a global audience. The platform provides an easy-to-use course editor that supports video uploads, text notes, and quizzes. Udemy’s marketplace model means that students can discover courses through search and recommendations, giving instructors access to a built‑in audience. While Udemy offers limited customization of course pages, it provides robust marketing tools such as coupons, promotions, and email announcements. The platform also handles payment processing through Stripe and PayPal, and offers a revenue share model that typically favors Udemy over the instructor. Pricing for instructors is free to publish a course, but Udemy takes a 50% revenue share for courses sold through its marketplace. Instructors can also choose to sell courses directly from their own website, but that requires separate payment processing. Pros: - Massive built‑in audience and discovery engine - Easy course publishing and management - Built‑in marketing tools (coupons, promotions) - Payment processing handled by Udemy - No upfront cost to publish Cons: - Revenue share model reduces instructor earnings - Limited control over branding and checkout flow - No AI chat or knowledge base features - No persistent memory across sessions - Limited ability to create private or membership‑only content Best for: Martial arts instructors who want to reach a large audience quickly and are comfortable sharing revenue with a marketplace platform.