Century Puzzle Mats???

KickChick · Black Belt

Never have "trained" on those mats ... only wooden floors and as Doug posted, I prefer carpeted dojang floors. Yes I do have calloused feet (but that's a good thing!

) We have the added padding for shock absorbtion ... very good for stretching... no friction, ease in spreading legs apart. Absorbs sweat better too!!!

eh, those Century mats remind me of those ABC mats my kids used to have in their nursery as toddlers!

Tobias_Reece · Brown Belt

Jigsaw mats are cool - if not for their texture, but for the fact that it makes the dojo look like Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
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G95champ · Black Belt

Thanks everyone. I guess Im going to have to try them out for myself before I make the move on them.

I love wood floors. Carpet is ok but I always got rug burns LOL.
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SaiFightsMS · KF VIP

I always slid a lot on carpet when barefoot.

omnifinite · Purple Belt

Hmm... maybe I'm using something different. I've never noticed ours moving at the seams, catching my feet, or squeaking.
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IAMA_chick · Purple Belt

we have them at our school, and they work well. they do sometimes squeak but after a while people get use to them and learn how to make them not squeak. they are fine if you ask me. they have been at our school for 2 years now and they are still in good shape!
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Martial_Artist · Pre-Black Belt

If you sweat a lot and the floor gets wet it also gets very, very slippery. I had some of those puzzle mats (not Century) in a room I trained in in the Philippines. At the start it was excellent, but after two hours of training it was soaking wet and traction was at a nil.

Something to consider. Especially if you are going to teach a large class. Sweat dripping from brows could make the floor really slippery.

MA
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Pacificshore · Black Belt

G95:

I have 1" thick puzzle mats in my garage. They are from Tiger Claw. They are okay for what space and budget I have. You do tend to stick to them pretty good, so catching a toe or pivoting can sometimes be a pain/possibility. I just lay mine down on the cement and they don't slide. I don't recommend throws or hard take downs on them, even with padding underneath. I have 2 fold out mats for that.

Perhaps one on the best home mats that I had was the 8x8 Swain one peice mat. Unfortunately it wasn't big enough to train on. Swain gets real expensive when you need a decent size coverage.

theswarm · Blue Belt

i hate those puzzle mats
they feel awful
gimme a wooden basketball court anyday

Guest · Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2003 10:36 am Post subject:

Our main area floor is double padded carpet, while up front we had some century floor mats on top of carpet. We eventually bought new carpet w/ double padding up front and removed the puzzle mats. The question we had to ask ourself was, Would you rather have double padded carpet or puzzle mats? Carpet is easier for us to maintain, but we still keep the puzzle mats incase the need ever arises for us to use them.

Good:
They are soft. Easier on falls.
Easy to pinpoint movement or line up feet positions.
Stackable. Really nice for Judo throws.
Can rearrange patterns (when you have mutiple colors).
Quick, easy way to cover up concrete.
You could take them outside for a demonstration on pavement.

Bad:
Not too easy to clean (we loaded ours into trucks and went to carwashes).
Your feet/toes could snag while doing spining kicks or feet drills.
If someone accidentally stepped on one w/ shoe, the print shows.
Not always lined up w/ edge of wall.
They Migrate.
You need edge fillers so they don't get toes caught on edges.
If an outside piece (connectors) breaks off, there is a hole in the mat.
If you drop a Sai, a nice whole appears in the mat.
Make your feet black if not cleaned often.

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