Gym Mats and Martial Arts Mats

There are a number of physical activities and sports that call for a softer surface than a sheer wood or concrete floor for safety purposes. Gymnastics pads or gymnastics crash mats are often used for gymnasts who are practicing their routines, whether at the high school or professional level. Similarly, martial arts mats are padded foam pats with a tough outer layer where all sorts of barehanded combat arts may be practiced and performed safely. Such martial arts mats are easy to find, use, and store, and those martial arts mats may be used in a karate class or even for the military or at police academies too. A martial arts mats is a simple but essential piece of hardware for professionals to make good use of.

Gymnasts

When it comes to collision softening mats and flooring, gymnasts may often come to mind. These athletes, often women and adolescent girls, are known for tumbling, flipping, tight beam walking, acrobatics on raised bars and hoops, and much more. However, the risk of falling on the floor or hard tumbles is always real, and a gymnast may suffer bruises, fractured bones, or worse if they were to fall or tumble on a sheer concrete or even wooden floor. No one wants to break a bone while practicing their routines, so gym mats will always be on hand. These are foam mats with tough but soft padding that can help absorb impacts, and that can make all the difference where safety is concerned. In fact, gymnasts typically use these mats even during proper events, all the way up to the Olympics. Failing a routine or a tumble shouldn’t have to mean being taken to the ER, after all. A high school, for example, may have some gym foam mats stored in the gymnasium’s supply closet, and they will be taken out and deployed on the floor when the time comes for practice.

Martial Arts Mats

Similar foam mats or interlocking foam floor tiles may be used cor unarmed combat training as well, and martial arts classes, the military, and police academies are among the most frequent users of these mats. Martial arts such as karate or tae kwon do and judo involve throws, grapples, and knocking down the opponent, and this may cause some unintended harm if someone falls on a sheer wooden or concrete floor. Like with gymnasts, someone practicing martial arts may avoid getting badly hurt when they fall or knocked down on these padded mats. Police academies and the military tend to teach unarmed combat as well, often known as CQC, or “close quarters combat.” Here too, grapples, throws, kicks, and more are practiced, and injury is to be avoided. A police academy trainer or a military officer would be unhappy if a cadet or trainee is hospitalized due to a fractured bone during an ordinary practice session.

These mats are simple pieces of hardware, and don’t require any special construction or tools to use. They are simply foam padding inside vinyl coats that keep them safe, and these mats may be shaped so that they can be folded into a smaller shape for storage convenience. These mats are soft, and therefore won’t get warped or shattered or broken. However, sharp objects, shoes, and food and drinks should be kept away from them, as sharp objects or the hard soles of shoes might tear the protective fabric on these mats. Such tears may get even wider if someone’s body gets snagged on them and tear the hole wider, and no one wants that. Food and drink may stain the mat, so such items are usually kept away. And if a mat does get a tear, the fabric may be sewn back shut or a new set of fabric covers may be installed to replace the compromised one. Meanwhile, some martial arts schools may want to use foam flooring tiles, which are padded, soft tiles that can fit together like puzzle pieces. They can be arranged in large formations to cover an entire room’s floor, and may be patterned to look like hard wood. This is useful for both children’s play rooms and martial arts classrooms, and for similar reasons. A fall anywhere in that room will be padded.