WIthin the market of martial arts flooring, there is a range of thicknesses for the mats. Mats for striking arts, such as Karate or Taekwondo, are much thicker than mats that are designed for Grappling or MMA. This is because each discipline needs varying levels of fall protection.
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| martial arts mat thickness |
Generally, unless you are knocked out, you won't be falling much when participating in Karate or Taekwondo. As a rule, thicker mats are designed to absorb more impact from falls and throws.
Karate and Taekwondo training halls need flooring that will reduce impact on joints while jumping or running - as moves within these disciplines are meant to be executed from a standing or upright position,
For martial arts such as BJJ, Judo, Hapkido and Jujitsu, the body-to-floor impact level is significantly increased during the process of throwing and fallings. Because of this, foam flooring for these arts can often be up to twice the thickness of those intended for striking arts. In many cases, studios for the throwing arts will often use landing pads or crash pads during throw training. This adds significantly more cushion to the landing process, which can give needed cushion and forgiveness to beginners just learning to break their falls.
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| karate mat |
High density foam is often the preferred material for martial arts flooring as it provides cushion without losing stability. 1 inch thick mats is commonly considered to be the crossover point between mats for striking and throwing arts.
Between 3/4 inch and 1 inch thick, most high density foam martial arts mats can provide the necessary joint protection for Karate and Taekwondo and are less expensive than the thicker varieties.
If the flooring is going to be used for throwing martial arts, the minimum thickness is 1.25 inches. Mats that are 1.5 inches thick or more are the prefered thickness for proper shock absorption without injury.
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| mma grappling mats |
It is important that the flooring be made of closed cell foam which will not absorb moisture - or covered in a high quality vinyl - and is easy to clean and disinfect. Most foam martial arts flooring of this kind comes in interlocking, puzzle style tiles. The tiles are lightweight and are easy to install and remove. They are often times also reversible.
On the high end of the spectrum are hygienic vinyl covered foam mats. These mats are typically thicker and larger than the puzzle mat variety. They are commonly 1x2 meters in size with straight edges.
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| martial arts mats |
Please note: if an interlocking martial arts puzzle tiles does become damaged at a seam, such as a missing tooth from the edge, the tile should be replace if the flooring is to be used for barefoot training. This is because toes can slip into these holes and become trapped during spins.
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| quality judo mats for sale |
