Training mats

ikenpo

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What are the best training mats for a home studio? Can you rank them by cost and by quality? Both for just training and for throwing and ground work.

Thanks, jb:asian:
 

Klondike93

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I don't know what they cost, but both schools I go to use them and I like them for both throwing/falling, grappling or any kenpo
techniques.


:asian:
 

satans.barber

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Originally posted by jbkenpo

What are the best training mats for a home studio? Can you rank them by cost and by quality? Both for just training and for throwing and ground work.

Thanks, jb:asian:

Those 'jigsaw' mats are good since they don't seperate as you move around on them (obviously normal ones don't with a tarp over but they're expensive).

Unfortunately they're expensive, over here I think a single 150cmx150cm mat is about £25-30, so I guess maybe $40 each (although they're probab;y cheaper in America anyway, most things are).

I suppose it depends on your budget and the area you have to cover,

Ian.
 

Blindside

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Try www.resilite.com, look under "home use/wrestling mats."

They take old wrestling mats and do a recondition on one side to make smaller ones for home use. The mats are in perfect condition on the one side, and come with a 10' circle on them for matches. We bought a 12x12 for our studio at about 300 bucks, pretty good actually. Keep an eye out as the mats come up at different times and at different prices.

It may be a little "sticky" for stand up work, but it is good for takedowns. If you are doing big judo/aiki/silat throws I would recommend putting some carpet liner underneath for extra padding. I like them because they are designed for use with shoes and resist tearing better than those foam floor mats. Also I think the jigsaw mats don't really do much to protect against injuries from falls, they just don't have enough padding for anything big.

That resilite site also now carries jigsaw mats, but they look pricey, but might be a better compromise between protection and stickyness for a stand up fighter.

Good luck,

Lamont
 

Klondike93

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Originally posted by satans.barber



Those 'jigsaw' mats are good since they don't seperate as you move around on them (obviously normal ones don't with a tarp over but they're expensive).

Unfortunately they're expensive, over here I think a single 150cmx150cm mat is about £25-30, so I guess maybe $40 each (although they're probab;y cheaper in America anyway, most things are).

I suppose it depends on your budget and the area you have to cover,

Ian.

I Hate those mats!!!!!!!!!!!:angry:

Well most of them anyways. They have some at the school I teach at and I'm always dragging a toe or the whole foot and spraining it. I'm not the only one, others have done the same thing. The local tournaments here are held on those mats but there doesn't seem to be the same problem. I'll try to find out the name of them so you can avoid them, in my opinion anyways.

:asian:
 

Blindside

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Oooh, you have tournaments on mats!

As a semi-professional crash dummy in the self-defense divisions, that seems pretty darn cushy to me. :D I'm used to big throws on basketball court floors, fortunately I've learned to fall well. When we sparred in my BJJ and judo classes we had to learn how to move around on mats so that isn't really an issue for me.

Wow, pads at a tournament.....

Lamont
 
A

AZ_Kenpoist

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I saw some of the jigsaw mats at Costco a few weeks ago, believe it or not. They weren't the same ones sold in MA catalogs, but they were more of a shop-type flooring. After looking at them and comparing them to the floor at my school, there wasn't much of a difference besides the color...and the price. For 16 sq. ft. of mat, the cost was about $8.00. I was considering getting some for the garage, but I gotta wait for payday.
 
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Rob_Broad

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I would suggest Jigsaw mats, they can be formed together and cut to make custome fits. You can get them in a variety of colors. I would suggest getting them form one of the larger companies that way you are assured of a better product. Asian World martial Arts supply carries them at a very good price. At worst go to century to see what they have.
 

satans.barber

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Originally posted by Klondike93



I Hate those mats!!!!!!!!!!!:angry:

Well most of them anyways. They have some at the school I teach at and I'm always dragging a toe or the whole foot and spraining it. I'm not the only one, others have done the same thing. The local tournaments here are held on those mats but there doesn't seem to be the same problem. I'll try to find out the name of them so you can avoid them, in my opinion anyways.

:asian:

Fair enough! We could only afford 2 so I've not worked on a big area of them, we just use them for locking horns and such like, we work on the concrete most of the time (well, concrete with laminate over).

We got some squishy foam mats from a judo club that went bust though, they're as good and they were free!

Ian.
 
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