Eureka Springs Aikido Testimonial on Portable Martial Arts Mats

How Greatmats Home BJJ Mats Help an Aikido School Grow with Its Students

When Zach Trent, Chief Instructor at Eureka Springs Aikido needed a martial arts mat that was versatile and would help protect his students, he chose the Home BJJ Mats. Eureka Springs Aikido, located in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, has been in business for about five years. The school teaches open hand, sword, and staff.

Trent, a martial arts instructor who has been studying Aikido for the past 15 years, started his search for new martial arts mats on Google. He found that Greatmats had excellent reviews, and ultimately found the product that would fit the program’s needs.

“Our training has a lot of throws and rolls, so I knew we would need mats that were bigger than one inch,” Trent explains. “The 1-½ inch mats have been perfect for our martial arts training.”


Trent notes that the mats offer the shock absorption and protection that he and his students need. “From an Aikido perspective these mats are great for forward rolls,” he says. “It fits really nice, especially since we have a concrete floor underneath this, but the mats hold up really well.

“They’re even good for break falls, and there’s not a great deal of impact on the body. Even though these mats are on a concrete floor, they have a really good springiness quality to them, and so I highly recommend them,” says Trent.

But Trent needed mats that could also grow as his school grows. The Home BJJ Mats could do exactly that. “What’s cool about these mats is you can buy them as you need them,” he explains. “So as we grow in students, we kind of buy more mats as we go.”

Additionally, Trent needed mats that were portable, easy to install, and easy to disassemble. “Our program is in the community center, so we have to break the mats down at the end of class,” he says.

As a result, the Eureka Springs Aikido team has established a system where they disassemble the tiles in blocks of 3x3. “You can store them quite easily, so at the end of each class we would break down the entire mat, and it takes us somewhere between three and five minutes after we clean,” Trent explains. Storing the mats in these 3x3 pieces makes for a faster installation when preparing for the next class.

Why Home BJJ Mats are Ideal for Martial Arts Schools and More

As Trent describes, the Home BJJ Mats offer the shock absorption and cushion that’s so important for martial arts. These 1.5-inch-thick mats can help to absorb the impacts of falls and tumbles, but they’re also firm enough to support athletes during stand-up martial arts training.


The mats feature a no-burn tatami surface to help prevent skin burns during falls, helping to keep athletes comfortable during takedowns and floor work.

While Trent uses the mats in a professional setting, they’re also suitable for home use. The mats bring superior shock absorption and cushion to home settings, so you can install them in a basement or garage to help maximize your safety while training at home. They’re also ideal for use in kids’ playrooms and indoor play spaces where you want to provide some extra protection as kids tumble and roughhouse.


One of the greatest benefits of these mats is their DIY-friendly installation. That installation is particularly important to Trent, given the fact that he has to assemble and disassemble the mats for each class because the school operates out of a shared space.

That’s easy, thanks to the mats’ puzzle-style edges. The mats fit together just like puzzle pieces, and removing them is just as easy. This is ideal for home use since you can install the mats when you want to add cushion to a floor, and then remove them when you need to use the room for another purpose. The mats are lightweight and easy to carry, so you can store them in a closet or your basement. And, as Trent described, by removing the mats in larger sections, you can save time on the next installation.

These mats each include two border strips, which allows for a clean edge on your island installation. Additionally, they’re dual-sided and available in two color options, so they’re a visually appealing addition to any space.

The mats are easy to maintain, too. They can be damp mopped with a common household floor cleaner to keep them looking their best.

Order Your Home BJJ Mats

If you’re ready to enjoy the benefits of Home BJJ Mats in your home or martial arts school, the Greatmats customer service team is here to help. Contact us today with any questions or for a shipping quote. We’d be happy to help you choose the product that’s best for your school or home.

Zach Trent

Eureka Springs Aikido

Eureka Springs AR 72632