Training on Different Surfaces

[Nidan Melbourne]

This is more directed towards those who have multiple locations. 

So for context; the club I first trained at had 4 locations (2 of which I never visited). So our Hombu Dojo used Mats for both floors, and the Dojo I was based at didn't use any mats  as we trained on hard floors. 

So the only time I visited our Hombu was for Grading Purposes. 

Now out of curiosity; for those who have multiple locations or teach for several clubs. What surfaces do you teach on and how differently do you teach when on different surfaces? 

[Spartacus Maximus]

Every indoor training space will have a smooth, even surface and most of them have floors with hardwood, linoleum tiles or similar materials. Many will install the typical martial arts or gym mats over that. 

The only difference that comes to mind when considering the dojo floor, is that there may be more caution when doing things like throwing and falling, or being down on the floor. 

Knowing that any real life situation is highly likely to happen on uneven and unpadded ground, it makes sense to train on hard floors or outside whenever and wherever possible like the old timers did. 

[sensei8]

Our Hombu was fortunate enough to have both multiple training rooms and floors, 3 to be exact.

First floor was where the main dojo was located. Its floors were hard wood.

Second floor held 3 training rooms. Largest of the 3 was the Hombu’s secondary dojo; its floors were also hard wood.

Next training room, on the second floor, was for practicing throws/take downs/etc; its floor was full of thick wall to wall mats. These mats were on top of thick plywood sheets. Those plywood sheets were on top of car tires that were secured to the floor. That gave the floor that one was kind of floating but in such a was that footwork wasn’t hindered at all. We students all looked at it like a cow would look at a strange gate for the first time. But training on it was like trading on a cloud.

Third room on the second floor was a free workout room. Its floor was hard wood.

Third floor was nothing but offices and the like. No training was performed on the third floor.

The Hombu, in addition, had a gymnasium attached directly behind the Hombu. Its floor was hard wood like a basketball court would have. The gymnasium was a multipurpose facility for whatever the third floor wanted to use it for at any given day.

My dojo had hard wood floors at first. In time, the hard wood floors were replaced with wall to wall puzzle mats.

To be perfectly honest, I don’t think we gave it quite a lot of thought about how we trained on the different floor types whether it be hard wood or mats or unique. Whether it be at the Hombu or at any networked dojo…we just trained without not giving much concern about the floors.

I suppose we were careful at first, as anyone would be whenever encountering something that’s different, especially on the floating floor.

 

[bushido_man96]

The mats at my TKD school are puzzle mats.  The mats at the Aikido dojo are a different kind of mat; I'm not sure how to describe them.  I don't notice too much difference in training on either at this point in time.  I have trained on different surfaces in the past; wood floors and concrete floors.

I'd say the most important thing to do when switching up training surfaces is making sure to get to the class early enough to move around on it, pivot and kick, punch, transition from stance to stance, to get a feel for what the floor is like in regards to what you are used to.  Some floors are tackier than others, providing more friction for pivots.  Some are slicker than others, which can make a sudden attempt at a high kick an adventure.  Obviously falling and rolling on hard floors is done with much more care and attention to detail than with mats.  I don't think I'd want to do Aikido on a hardwood floor.

[sensei8]

10 hours ago, bushido_man96 said:

I don't think I'd want to do Aikido on a hardwood floor

Not unless I was wearing a Red Man suit!!

[Nidan Melbourne]

I should probably add, when it came to Throws and Breakfalls Training we had to be careful and limit to more advanced students when it came to training on Wooden Floors. 

Like I learnt how to fall on Wooden Floors; did it suck? yes it did. But definitely made me appreciate that having those "golden' rules when it came to learning how to do them and also teaching others. 

Throws are the same, as each throw has different mechanics to them; we had to have solid awareness of what is on the ground and what the surface is like.

[aurik]

Our dojo has 2 floors - we have mats on the downstairs dojo, and hardwood (bamboo) floors upstairs.  I find that it's harder to balance on one leg on the mats; I also find the mats tend to get slippery a lot easier than the bamboo floors.  However, I definitely do not like falling on the bamboo floors!

[bushido_man96]

On 2/17/2025 at 1:31 PM, aurik said:

Our dojo has 2 floors - we have mats on the downstairs dojo, and hardwood (bamboo) floors upstairs.  I find that it's harder to balance on one leg on the mats; I also find the mats tend to get slippery a lot easier than the bamboo floors.  However, I definitely do not like falling on the bamboo floors!

I found that a problem on our previous mats.  The puzzle mats we have now don't have as much "sink" as the previous ones did, which much nicer for balance.

[Spartacus Maximus]

the best puzzle mats are the ones about 2,5cm thick and medium firm(yes, some makes/brands have different firmness). Floor mats that are too thick/soft will not react the same way. Something with minimal cushioning close to bare floor/ground. Mats that are too thick/soft will feel like standing on a bed mattress and may even increase the likelihood of foot, ankle or toe injuries.