Cheap foldout mats to get college club started?

**jtkarate** · Posted On: 9/21/2007 8:59pm

there is a cheaper mat ..called Duramat that comes in a 3' by 6' for around 59.99 it is a fairly good mat. And when you add up how many you need they come out cheaper than a 5' by 10' for 300+.

They are going to be offering them at Dick's sporting goods starting in october. If you don't have a store nearby then I would order them online.

**krazy kaju** · Posted On: 9/21/2007 9:36pm

You can always buy those cheap interlocking mats at cosco, target, etc.

They're cheap and fine for ground grappling, but probably not the greatest for throws, and pretty much all takedowns for that matter. I use 1 inch thickness mats though, I'd be guessing that 2 inches would be more appropriate for takedowns though...

Dunno.

**El Neko** · Posted On: 9/21/2007 10:13pm

Swain mats are a good buy (price/quality), check this one out Here

**Longhorn** · Posted On: 9/21/2007 10:50pm

Originally Posted by FictionPimp

We dont' have any other clubs on campus that use mats. We have a TKD club, but they just use the room we are going to use. It looks like I might be footing the bill for about 1800.00 in mats. Them be the breaks I guess.

I just want to get people excited about the martial arts in a positive way, then if they are serious about it, ship them off to my instructors in the area.

couple things we do here at school to raise money

1. collect dues for the year, ours are $60/yr if you're a returning student, $80/yr for first timers, though they get $20 back if they stick around for awhile. something like that.
2. run a tournament, though this might be a bit out of your league, it requires alot of connections with surrounding clubs. we raised like 6 or 7 thousand this last year.

so say you get 12 people... that's $720 for the year. alot less that you pay for at least.

**datdamnmachine** · Posted On: 9/21/2007 11:38pm

I was going to suggest the Swain Flexi-Roll as well. I would look into different dimensions and thickness for your specific needs. As for ones with velcro:

http://www.matmerchant.com/store/lis...gory_id=106507

I have the 5' x 10' by 1.5inch thick mats. When I bought them, they were around 200 bucks a pop. These are the cheapest I've found velcro martial arts mats for. I've used them for drilling but not hard grappling as I don't have the space in my apartment for that. They would hold up regardless. Hope this helps.

**Bustardo** · Posted On: 9/22/2007 9:18am

You may want to check into your university providing your club with funds. Student clubs at my university were each given around $2000 a year for club supplies, etc. You could get some really nice mats for that.

**Purpleskunk** · Posted On: 9/23/2007 1:13am

i was thinking of doing the same, but i was liek **** it, just do it on the grass... but anyways

i dont know about price or quality, but i saw these http://www.combatsports.com/SearchRe...ategoryID=2238
http://www.interlockingfloormat.com/...uzzle_mats.htm

and i just thought id put it out there

**PockSuppet** · Posted On: 9/23/2007 8:45am

If there's a local rubber/foam supplier, get some foam rubber tiles. The local judo club uses a medium density foam rubber in tiles about 2.5 x 5 foot, and then covers it in canvas. Probably cheaper and easier to find than MA mats, and it's plenty soft enough to take a full force throw on.