Martial Art Mats

Good martial art mats are an essential item for people training in the grappling or throwing arts.

If you are setting up a home training studio and are wanting to practice ground fighting techniques, I would highly suggest you invest in some good martial art mats.

The reason I suggest this is that a good set of mats will help prevent you from injuring yourself when you are training. Training ground or throwing techniques are hard enough on the body, you don’t need extra punishment from your training surface!

Types of mats

Martial arts mats generally come in three styles – standard, jigsaw and rolled.

Standard mats

This type of mat is similar to what you would find in high school gymnasiums. They are usually square or rectangular in shape and have a foam core with a vinyl covering. The vinyl covering can come with a Tatami pattern which helps to prevent the mat from slipping as well as users slipping on the mat.

The use of the term Tatami in this case should not be confused with traditional Japanese Tatami mats which are made of woven straw and traditionally packed with straw.

These martial art mats usually need a frame to fix them in place. This makes them more appropriate as permanent floor coverings for training areas.

Jigsaw Mats

Also known as puzzle mats, jigsaw mats are probably the most common type of martial art mat. They are portable and are very easy to set up. Their interlocking, jigsaw-shaped edges ensure that the mats stay locked together and thus do not require any further framing to secure the mats.

When choosing a jigsaw style martial art mat I recommend you find one that has strong interlocking edges. Mats that are made of weaker foam can have very flimsy edges which can result in the mats coming apart during training. This can be annoying and can lead to injury.

Roll out mats

This form of mat is similar to the standard mats except they are slightly thinner and have the capacity to be rolled up to save space. Some companies offer custom sizes to accommodate training areas in the home or martial arts academy.

General considerations

No matter what style of mat you choose, there are a few extra things to consider. These are

• Firmness. Mats vary greatly in terms of firmness. Softer mats can slow down your mobility by ‘giving’ too much under your feet. Harder mats can increase the chances of injury. Choose a level of firmness that suits your training needs.
• Non-slip surface. Make sure the mat sits securely on the surface that you intend for it to be on. Also, the training surface should not be too slippery as to predispose you to injury.
• Non-grazing surface. Check to make sure that the surface of the mat will not give you unwanted scratches or grazes.
• Hygiene. The martial arts mat should be able to cleaned easily. As you will most likely be sweating on the mat this is a very important consideration. Some mat suppliers offer specialised cleaning products for their mats.
  
  
  
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