I mean I%26#039;ve worked in productive plants with some plastics, is it just speculation? Not just the traditional ones, also interbloking EVA or Triocellen ones. Costs several thousand dollars just cover a small room. I tried buying directly from a producer in China and they still asked me awkward prices.|||I%26#039;m going to answer your question a little differently than the others I hope it helps.
I grew up on traditional tatami but at $125 and up for a single mat the cost for most start up schools is prohibitive even though to me they are the best there is.
There are ways to %26#039;mat%26#039; an area economically I%26#039;ll describe two of them for you here.
The first is the way many old Jujitsu schools do it. The second is the way I do it.
Jujitsu method, read this one to the end before deciding you don%26#039;t like it. step one start going around to local carpet places and ask if they have old carpet left overs from tear outs, you can often get them for free, you may need to shampoo them before using if they have an odor but usually not, then simply stack them to the desired thickness trying to keep gaps and lumps to a minimum. Ok I know your thinking %26#039;I%26#039;m not going to do that I%26#039;m not that desperate%26#039; Now the second part of the process which makes it a grade a professional covering. This part will run a couple hundred and up depending on the size of your mat area. Find your local %26#039;tarp%26#039; manufacturer and have them make you a heavy canvas covering, make sure it is plain canvas unoiled untreated, white is best. Now the fun part paint it, yes I said paint it, use a brush go in one direction and use latex house paint 2-3 coats is best as is white for a color, you may also add whatever you like in a contrasting color such as a %26#039;ring%26#039; in black paint, the eight angles, border lines etc. it%26#039;s your school make it how YOU want it. The next step is to %26#039;border%26#039; the %26#039;mats%26#039; with boards affixed to the floor, screwed or bolted glue won%26#039;t hold. On the out side edge affix a screw in eye, now hopefully you have had your tarp cut so that it is a couple inches short all the way around this will allow for stretch. Now you use some 1/4 inch rope through the grommet of the tarp and hook it over the eyes and stretch it. Voila you have a great surface for working out on and if you have padded it deep enough it will be suitable for hard falls ala Sutemi%26#039;s as in Aikido and other arts. This type of %26#039;mat%26#039; system has been used for many years in Judo, Aikido and Jujitsu schools and is one of the most cost effective ways to cover large areas.
The way I chose to do was with the puzzle mats that are so popular these days but are soooo expensive. Here%26#039;s my trick for getting around that one. Find your local %26#039;Harbor Freight Tools%26#039; store they are a discount tool and supply house and also have an e-mail ad you can sign up for, every few months they have %26#039;anti-fatigue%26#039; mats go on sale. These mats are two foot square with the %26#039;puzzle%26#039; edges, when I bought mine you could choose between a charcoal gray and package that had four colors, red, blue, green, yellow. So what I did was buy enough to cover a 20 x 20 area two mats deep (yes we do high falls as well as strike) and enough color packages so that i could have the center 16 x 16 area in red with two foot gray borders. this worked out great for me and a little less than half the price of the cheapest %26#039;puzzle mats%26#039; I could find online. If you don%26#039;t like the colors or feel you can always cover with canvas ala the first method.
Both these methods will last for years and look good as well.
Ok this part is a little off topic but it feels like you are trying to start a school. Most schools like to have a section of mirrors, most people go out and get large plate glass mirrors expensive and dangerous, years ago we had a couple guys sparring go into one it was literally a bloody mess luckily it was only their feet that got shredded it could have been much worse. What I recommend to people doing small schools is to watch your local mega marts ads for when %26#039;door%26#039; mirrors go on sale they usually sell for 6-10 dollars but on sale you can sometimes get them for four or five. After you buy them, making sure all the frames match, mount 1%26quot; x 4%26quot; boards which you have painted to match your wall, the height should be about even with the top of your head or 18-24 inches from the floor. Now your mirrors have a %26#039;ledge%26#039; to rest on. On top simply use mirror hangers, 2 per mirror, you may also decide to give them a spot or two of silicone to glue them flat to the wall, this keeps them from %26#039;bowing%26#039; out. Now simply repeat the process laying the mirrors edge to edge until you have the area covered you need. This gives you the mirrors you wanted and they are safer because they are glued to a cardboard back and in the event someone does break them it is limited to one or two usually and the pieces almost all stay glued to the cardboard and don%26#039;t go all over the floor.
Hope this helped you Good Luck!
You can see how it looks by visiting my myspace page there are a few pics in my old dojo in Iowa just after I completed it.
http://profile.myspace.com/professor_luc...
Oh forgot for anyone curious I did the 20%26#039; x 20%26#039; space double thick for $485.00 in 2004 with the mats from Harbor Frieght|||Cracked skulls and broken feet from stomping on concrete is even more expensive. Plus you can forget about practicing throws. You can always try wrestling mats, although I%26#039;m not sure how your place is set up. At WSU where I oftent escaped from Idaho during summer school, because installed mats were so expensive, generally the martial arts clubs just used the same gym that the wrestlers did. Also, as is to be expected the wrestlers were cool with it.
I%26#039;m always shocked at the contrast between wrestlers and other types of athletes; generally, most other types of athletes tend to be full of themselves and many times cowardly and with no balls, wrestlers on the other hand, tend to be really cool dudes. I%26#039;m suggesting wrestling mats because I figure, its designed for much of the same things right? First of all, second, public high schools use them, and obviously this government does not spend a whole lot of money on public education so their budgets are always tight.
If a high school can afford wrestling mats, you should be able to too if you find a way to raise money.
good luck.
P.S.
That just blows man; sorry. Its not like in Japan where the Judoka over there are spoiled by the government. Any training equipment or type of gym facility they ask for, they get. Judo gyms in Japan are state of the art.|||That%26#039;s what profit is all about. But fear not, good sir! I%26#039;ve found an excellent site for purchasing mats.
http://getrung.com/24mm.html
Check out that link. They sell 40 x 40 tatami-style puzzle mats by packages of 9 for $245 dollars, including shipping. Though that is no small fee, compared to the other deals I%26#039;ve seen out there, this is a godsend.
EDIT: Apparently, it can cost even less, depending on what part of the country you%26#039;re from (in terms of shipping). Also, you can get up to 45 of these 40x40 mats for under 1000 dollars, including shipping. I love this site.|||At wholesale prices the EVA ones are not too bad but the real Tatami mats are very expensive. It is a shame too because they make a great floor.
Edit - contact SWAIN sports mats. They sell their used mats from tournaments really cheap. They just called me and have red puzzle mats at $12 each plus S %26amp; H. Good luck|||you may want to look at getting them from an auction or someplace that went out of business even is it%26#039;s gymnastic place, there mats can be a good substitute. if you can get them cheep enough.
china will mostly deal only in bulk prices.
also try craigs list and places like that.|||they are expensive, but last forever
edit: tatami mats have always been pricey. you don%26#039;t have to get tatami mats there are cheaper ones|||Because they keep you from suffering life long injury from throws and such. I think that%26#039;s worth something. They can be used for parkour training too, that%26#039;s the only time I use them.|||speculation for sure!|||When I was in karate we had to raise something like 1,500 dollars for a karate mat. It is ridiculous! |||The easiest answer for you is actually pretty simple.
It takes about the same legwork you are doing now but is useful.
Look for used Tatami%26#039;s. Schools go out of business, and a good place to check is a State Judo organization. As they host the tournaments and house mats, they usually end up changing out mats every two or three years for the latest and greatest, you can usually get Tatami%26#039;s at a steal in this case.
I have seen a lot of homemade high density foam+canvas+spring board designs... and there are cheaper alternatives to brand new Tatamis.
Check Ebay, and your local State Judo organization, you can also ask for local Judo representatives by asking the National Organizations (USJI, USJA, etc). Some of them are even getting rid of mats.
Another thought that most schools do is offer to share dojo space with another club so that they can all throw down on the mat.
There are cheaper alternatives for interm though.
The above poster had some great ideas about cheap homemade surfaces cir_k%26#039;s post was great.
There are a lot of good articles on cheap inexpensive springboard builds.
Essentially building a frame with tires, tennis balls, sort sort of bouncy thing underneath, some high density foam and a good canvas pulled tight over it. It isn%26#039;t as good as Tatami and lends itself more to mat burn, but it does do the trick until you can get up the capital to replace all that high density foam with Tatamis.
I have helped a few clubs do that for competetion sized mat space for maybe 1500 to 1800 bucks and the sweat of a dozen volunteers. There are more than a few websites on how to do it.
http://judoamerica.com/coachingcorner/sp...
Is a good idea, but instead of Tatami you use high density foam, then cover with canvas.
In fact you can email the guy on that website he will provided build out plans for you (and suggest the foam needed) to meet your specifications.
Good luck.
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