How we built Groundhouse Karate (without building a karate dojo)

First, the confession: Groundhouse Karate doesn't exist. There is no dojo, no mats and no sensei, which makes our student-to-instructor ratio mathematically undefined.

Why we made it up

Loam Agency builds websites for small and local businesses, and many of them handle information their customers trust them with. We decided early that our clients' sites aren't ours to show off. So instead of a portfolio of other people's businesses, we made up a business for every industry we serve and built each one a real website.

Real where it counts

Real is the important word. This site is built to the same standards as our client sites: a content management system the owner edits directly, search and AI-answer markup on every page, forms protected from spam, an admin that isn't exposed to the public, and a monthly security and maintenance review. The only fictional parts are the karate dojo, its people and its prices.

Its look comes from a design system: brand colors, type and styles designed in Figma, so every page stays on brand in light mode and dark. The content, including this post, was imported from spreadsheets.

What it means for your business

If you run a real business and your website is a weekend project you never finished, a platform you've outgrown, or a plugin update away from trouble, this is what the alternative looks like. With your name on it.