I’ve been instructing and coaching within the martial arts for over 20 years. Over this era, I’ve educated on nearly each kind of terrain or floor. As a Martial Science and Ninjitsu practitioner, it’s key that we prepare in circumstances nearer to the true world. This is without doubt one of the causes most of my courses and camps are taught outdoors or at a neighborhood park.

Nevertheless, there are occasions when going indoors or coaching underneath a roof or on a mat is a good various. Within the final 10 years, I’ve come to like one kind of coaching floor or martial artwork mat as the first martial artwork mat for my indoor coaching. These mats are referred to as, “Puzzle mats” and infrequently instances, “Jigsaw mats.” After coaching with them so typically, we now name them, “Martial Science Mats.” Simply as it is very important have a very good uniform, we now have chosen these interlocking foam fitness center mats to be our major mat of alternative AKSOUL camping mat.

The explanation we like them a lot, is principally due to their versatility and confirmed practicality for all of our varied coaching packages. Now we have examined these mats with full contact sparring, grappling, health kickboxing, self-defense and naturally, our major system of martial arts – the Martial Science coaching which incorporates rolls, falls, kicks, punches and most areas of the martial arts.

Till I opened my first of two Dojo’s in Fresno, California, I had by no means heard of puzzle mats. I bear in mind when the order of about 100 mats got here in. I (and certainly one of my long-term camp college students from Holland) opened them up and commenced taking a look at them with curiosity. While you first open the packing containers, you’ll discover that new mats have a particular rubbery scent. Very like the scent you get while you enter a tire store or after you’ve got painted a room. In case you are delicate to smells like this, finest to let the mats air out earlier than taking the time to piece them collectively. We determined to get the mats out of the packing containers (there have been solely about 5 in every field) and open all of the home windows to allow them to air out.

The primary faculty was about 1000 sq. ft with a strong concrete ground. We started piecing the mats collectively by laying the interlocking sections on high of one another after which from our fingers and knees – pushed every bit into the subsequent (later with expertise we realized to do all of this standing). Every mat was slightly over 3 ft width and size. Due to this fact, we had loads of mats to cowl the area we wanted to cowl.

After about quarter-hour, our ground area was now fully coated in mats in stunning crimson mats. Nevertheless, the width of the mats was a few foot longer than the width of our ground. Since we wished wall-to-wall mats, we merely used a field cutter to chop the mats the place they met the sting of the wall. These EVA Foam mats are very simple to chop. This gave us an ideal match and a few further mat items we may use elsewhere. Since this primary set up, I’ve been utilizing these mats all over the place. I take advantage of the when touring to demonstrations, organising an out of doors coaching space or any location that wants a mat or space of safety.