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wcnavstar
Orange Belt
Joined: 25 Mar 2003
Posts: 137
Location: Southern California
Styles: Shorin Ryu/ Wing Chun
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 Posted: Sat May 10, 2003 12:32 am Post subject: Martial art equipment |
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| I was just wondering if anyone had suggestions on the best way to get equipment, that is easy to resupply and can support a budding martial arts school? |
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monkeygirl
KF VIP
Joined: 22 Feb 2002
Posts: 3678
Location: Iowa
Styles: Tae Kwon Do
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| Posted: Sat May 10, 2003 10:56 am Post subject: |
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If your school is just starting out, it probably won't be very fiscally wise to try to keep things in stock like a pro shop. A lot of schools just put things on a monthly order when the student asks for it, and then the student waits for it to come in.
The three major suppliers for my dojo are: Century, Ikon, and AWMA (ProForce).
From my experience, Ikon has the best quality foam sparring gear (lasts long).
Ikon has very good lightweight uniforms. A lot of people on the forums here like ProForce's uniforms...I've never had one. When it comes to a heavyweight uniform, I much prefer Century's over Ikon's. It may not last as long, but it just feels better.
Century has good equipment like standing bags and hand targets. They also have the novelty items like T-shirts, keychains, coffee mugs, etc.
Our school orders belts from Ikon, but...I've always preferred Century's belts. They're not slick like Ikon's, so they stay tied better. I do have to admit, though...Ikon has a good system going for putting sizes on belts. Century just puts stickers on the belts that you can peel off later. Ikon, however, has the sizes on white tags that are permanently attached to the belt. That way, you can just walk up to a student, read the tag, and know what size belt s/he will need for their next grading. It also makes it easier to get them from storage. It's such a pain when a sticker falls off a Century belt...it becomes the unknown belt. What size is it? Nobody knows! 
Anyway, those are just my opinions on gear, etc. 
_________________
1st dan & Asst. Instructor TKD 2000-2003
No matter the tune...if you can rock it, rock it hard. |
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SaiFightsMS
KF VIP
Joined: 28 Oct 2001
Posts: 6397
Location: Ohio
Styles: Shotokan, Shorin Ryu, Shi-to Ryu
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| Posted: Sat May 10, 2003 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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LOL Monkeygirl - belt stickers. Some of us actually prefer not to have size stickers on our belt and remove them stick on or not.
http://www.martialartssupermarket.com/
That company carries most of the major brands. |
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CheekyMusician
Green Belt
Joined: 28 Dec 2002
Posts: 413
Location: Scotland
Styles: Shotokan
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| Posted: Sun May 11, 2003 3:33 am Post subject: |
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| SaiFightsMS wrote: |
LOL Monkeygirl - belt stickers. Some of us actually prefer not to have size stickers on our belt and remove them stick on or not.
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Oh yes, I agree! lol.
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Smile. It makes people wonder what you've been up to. |
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monkeygirl
KF VIP
Joined: 22 Feb 2002
Posts: 3678
Location: Iowa
Styles: Tae Kwon Do
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| Posted: Sun May 11, 2003 7:55 am Post subject: |
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Yeah I don't like the sizing patches either...but I do have to admit to their usefulness. That's why I'm glad I've achieved Dan ranking....we use a Century belt! Plus you don't have to get a new belt every 4 or 5 months...wearing the same one for 2/3 years will make it nice and soft When I got my Red Belt, it was Ikon. I hated that thing!!! From then on, I weaseled my way into getting Century belts. 
_________________
1st dan & Asst. Instructor TKD 2000-2003
No matter the tune...if you can rock it, rock it hard. |
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on the post.
