Category Archives: News

Grappling Mats Versus Jiu-jitsu Mats

To better understand the differences or similarities between grappling mats and jiu-jitsu mats it is important to know what both grappling and jiu-jitsu are. The foundation of understanding is research. It has been used for thousands of years by humans to understand the world we live in and how it functions. Whether you are seeking to understand a natural phenomena or object the same rules apply. Seek and you shall understand. Grappling mats versus jiu-jitsu mats is explained below.

About Grappling

Grappling is the act of gripping or seizing the opponent, as can be clearly seen in wrestling, which is the best example of grappling. In grappling the two fighters grab at each other trying to get a grip so that they can get themselves into a position to throw the other person on the ground.

Once on the ground the fighter in the best position will try to apply some kind of submission or choke hold to get the other person to give up. The other person will give up by tapping out or indicating that they have had enough verbally or some other sort of means. Grappling can cover techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial arts.

All About Jiu-jitsu

Jiu-jitsu is a martial art which has it origins in Japan in the 16th century and before. Jiu-jitsu was an amalgamation of fighting styles at the time which incorporated punching, kicking, take downs and submissions. Later on the art mainly concentrated on the take down and submission aspect as it was deemed a less violent method of subduing an opponent.

These days the most common form of jiu-jitsu is BJJ. BJJ is an abbreviation of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu which is a more grappling orientation form and is widely used in competition and mixed martial arts.

So understanding this one would ask is there even a different between jiu-jitsu mats and grappling mats. Well the answer to that is there is no difference. Whether you call them jiu-jitsu mats or grappling mats the function is the same. Grappling mats are designed to protect the practitioner during use. Jiu-jitsu mats are also design to protect the users. So indeed they are the same. What a person chooses to use as a grappling mats or a jiu-jitsu mat is a different story.

The kinds of mats one would use for these purposes depended mainly on taste.

The different options available

Jigsaw mats (also known as EVA mats)
MMA mats
Tatami Mats
Roll-out Mats

Which of the above is chosen depends on if it is a professional organisation, the budget, and availability to name a few.

Grappling Mats Versus Jiu-jitsu Mats

Khabib Nurmagomedov Beats Dustin Poirier at UFC 242

Khabib Nurmagomedov beats Dustin Poirier. Khabib Nurmagomedov was able to easily defeat Dustin Piorier at UFC 242. Khalib dominated the fight yet again and was able to submit his opponent in the second round. Following his victory Khalib again lept out of the octagon momentarily terrorising Dana White until he realised he just wanted a hug. How sweet!

Nurmagomedov’s feud with McGregor

Nurmagomedov hadn’t fought in the 11 months since his victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in Las Vegas. That fight was marred by controversy due to his feud with Conor and his entourage. Thankfully there was no such incident this time around and the fight and the event went smoothly. It probably helped that Piorier hadn’t attached a UFC bus before the fight or called Khalib names.

What’s next for the little guy

What is next for Khalib is anyones guess. He will probably head back to the gym and continue his training on his MMA mats as any good fighter would. There is talk that he might fight Nat Diaz or any other similar fighter. So far there is no talk about a rematch with Conor although it can’t be ruled out completely some time in the future. What is certain is that the MMA mat training super star will be ready for a fight when ever it may come.

The UFC has become the dominant MMA fighting forum. Although there are other fighting competitions none has matched the UFC in terms of generating money or fame for its fighters. After this fight Khalib will certainly become one of their most prized fights unmatched by all except Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.

Khabib Nurmagomedov Beats Dustin Poirier

Nate Diaz Beats Anthony Pettis at UFC241

After three years out of the octagon Nate Diaz has again stamped his name in the UFC arena. In what was his highly anticipated return the UFC, Nate Diaz decisively won an unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) win over Anthony Pettis at UFC 241 on Saturday (Sunday EST).

I for one was confident that Diaz would win which is why in included him in my multi bet at the TAB. Paring Diaz and Miocic in a multi ultimately netted me 6-1 odd. Unfortunately I only place 50 buck so I came away with a modest $315.00.

The win was all the more interesting considering the time Diaz had been out of the fight game. Diaz had not fought since a loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 202 on Aug. 20, 2016. That fight he lost on points after choking out the little guy from Ireland in the previous fight.

In this fight Diaz imposed his will on Pettis early and often, nearly choking him out from the rear after surviving a deep guillotine himself. As well as pounding him with superb strikes, Diaz also was able to control Pettis every time they went to the ground.

What this shows is that even though Diaz hadn’t fought in the ring for three years him training on MMA mats helped keep him in shape. Indeed any kind of training mats would have helped including jigsaw mats. It was not either the MMA mats or jigsaw mats that keep him in shape but gruelling training sessions which are necessary to keep an elite athlete in shape.

The MMA mats and interlocking mats would have helped in so much that they would have made it possible to train longer and harder. The same could be said about any martial arts mats.

What’s next for Diaz we will have to wait and see. There could be a trilogy fight with O’Conor. On the other hand there are quite a few good fighters left in the division that might find themselves in the octagon with Nate. Watch this space fellows!

Nate Diaz Beats Anthony Pettis

Market Watch AUD and Gym Mats

As Josip Broz Tito once said, “If Bosnia is strong then all of Yugoslavia is strong”. In the same way it could be said that if the AUD is strong all of Australia is strong. But while we remain strong in the cricket and rugby our economy is not strong. And when the economy is not strong than the AUD suffers. That has been the case as the AUD lost another 30 points against the USD. This was after American consumer confidence surprisingly jumped, to an eight-month high. This is in contrast to Australia where consumer confidence is low and the retail sector is suffering.

The American markets are booming since realising that the cost of borrowing will fall after 2.25% worth of interest rate increases since December 2015. Since consumerism contributes 70% of US GDP, this is a welcome occurrence. This positive sentiment is reflected in the stock market and retails sales. While the Australia stock market is also rising the same can’t be said about retail spending which is in a slump. Also further falls in the AUD may cause more damage to consumer sentiment as they realise things aren’t as good as they should be.

The sale of gym mats has held up though. Even today we got a significant enquiry from one of the major rugby leagues looking at purchasing a large quantity of gym mats for one of their overseas operations. Similarly gym mats sales have been going from strength to strength as Southern Cross Mats and Ezy Mats (our parent company) expand market share. This has been mainly due to word or mouth about our excellent range of gym mats which include:

Jigsaw Mats
MMA Mats
Tatami Mats
Yoga Mats
Folding Mats
Gymnastics Mats
EVA Mats

In fact this is one of the largest ranges of gym mats in the southern hemisphere.

Thus far the depreciation of the AUD has not had an adverse effect on gym mat pricing. This will hopefully persist into the future.

Edward back training on Gym Mats after defeating Rafael dos Anjos

Leon Edwards Defeats Rafael dos Anjos at UFC San Antonio

Leon Edwards defeated Rafael dos Anjos at UFC San Antonio in the welterweight. Rafael lost via unanimous decision. The fight was another epic battle between two very seasoned fighters. While Anjos has been labelled as a serious contender for the title, it is not clear that he will remain so. I might be a case of him just needing to spend some time on the gym mats honing his fighting skills or maybe he just doesn’t have it in him anymore. It could also be that I am an arm chair warrior who doesn’t have a clue about what is takes to be a UFC fighter.

There were a number of other great fights at UFC San Antonio. It is great that the UFC is able to show such great fights consistently considering that seem to have a fight night every other day. To have such a large bastion of fighters on the books really sets them apart from the rest. Surely there are lots of fighters spending day in day out training on their gym mats getting ready for the next great show.

US China Trade War and the AUD

After America and China agreed to resume trade talks the Australian Dollar hit a two month high. During the talks Donald Trump agreed not to slap new tariffs on $300billion of Chinese goods including jigsaw mats. The US China trade war is here to stay.

Indeed tariffs on jigsaw mats have been a contentious issue considering the explosion of mixed martial arts in America and other sports they require EVA jigsaw mats.

Trump also said he would not allow American companies to sell products to Huawei which they had been banned from doing too. Huawei buys billions of dollars of chips and other components which are used in their products.

In exchange China’s president agreed to make new purchases of American agricultural products. Amongst the purchases was billions of dollars worth of rice which is the first time the Chinese have purchased rise from USA.

The Actions Of The RBA

In other local financial news the RBA decided to cut interest rates for a second consecutive month. The official rate is now 1% which is the lowest on record. It was also their first back-to-back cut since 2012. There is market consensus that there will be for further cuts in November and February – to 0.5%.

How a country that is extracting record minerals from the ground and posting historic trade surpluses can be in such financial strife is a mystery. Maybe some of our politician need some time on MMA mats where some sense can be talking into them.

US China Trade War

Will Jon Jones Train on MMA Mats or Jigsaw Mats for UFC 239

It has been confirmed that UFC legend Jon Jones will be officially licensed Wednesday to compete at UFC 239 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC). Jones, who has been fighting to clear his name of doping questions, will defend the UFC light heavyweight title against Thiago Santos in the main event of the July 6 card in Las Vegas USA. In naming Thiago as Jones’ apparent it is clear that the UFC is looking to create a super competitive fight.

Jigsaw Mats versus MMA Mats

The greater question is what kind of mats will Jon Jones use in preparation for this great fight. Will it be MMA mats or will it be jigsaw mats? Although there is no real way for us to know unless we actually go to the gym where Jon Jones trains to check out the mats let just try to imagine which would be best.

The MMA mats are a more durable mat and one would assume that both Jon Jones and his training partners train a lot. Logically if they train so much then there would be a lot of wear and tear occurring on the MMA mats or what ever type of mats they were training on. Therefore a more durable mats such as a MMA mat or even judo mat would seem the best option.

Martial Arts Clubs and MMA Centres

On the other hand jigsaw mats have been a mainstay for martial arts clubs including MMA training centres for years now. That said it could be easily concluded that the gym where Jon Jones trains could likely be using jigsaw mats or EVA mats. I mean these training centres tend to be huge and using jigsaw mats to deck them out would seem to be a great option.

The other possibility is that they use a combination of both. I have seen this before and indeed many of our customers do combine jigsaw mats and MMA mats in there gyms to cut down on costs whilst still maintaining a professional look and feel in their gyms.

New Shipment of Jigsaw Mats, EVA Mats, Tatami Jigsaw Mats

New Shipment of Jigsaw Mats in Sydney

We are happy to announce a new shipment of jigsaw mats arrived to our Sydney warehouse yesterday. It was a 40′ shipping container so we were able to fit quite a number of mats in the container. The EVA mats that came in include. So if you need jigsaw mats in Sydney give is a call. Coming in are:

20mm – T Pattern – Red/Black Jigsaw Mats
20mm – T Pattern – Red/Blue Jigsaw Mats
20mm – T Pattern – Black/Grey Jigsaw Mats
30mm – T Pattern – Red/Black EVA Jigsaw Mats
30mm – T Pattern – Red/Blue EVA Jigsaw Mats
30mm – T Pattern – Black/Grey EVA Jigsaw Mats
40mm – T Pattern – Red/Black EVA Mats
40mm – T Pattern – Red/Blue EVA Mats
40mm – T Pattern – Black/Grey EVA Mats
40mm – T Pattern – Yellow/Black EVA Mats (already sold out)
40mm – Black/ Grey Tatami Jigsaw Mats
40mm – Blue/Red Tatami Jigsaw Mats

Although it may seem like a lot of mats they will sell very fast. It is imperative that you place your order now whilst stock lasts. We don’t want you to be disappointed.

We also have a container which has left the factory on its way to our Melbourne warehouse. That container is not scheduled to arrive for another 3 weeks.

Southern Cross Mats is the premier supplier of jigsaw mats in Sydney. We also sell MMA mats, tatami mats, folding mats, gymnastics mats, wall mats, and gym mats in the Australian market. Our warehouses are located in Sydney and Melbourne for your convenience.

Jigsaw Mats in Sydney

Brit Anthony Ruiz loses to Mexican Andy Ruiz

Anthony Joshua in Shock Loss to Andy Ruiz

In what is surely one of the greatest shocks in modern boxing Anthony Joshua has lost his WBA, WBO and IBF world titles to Andy Ruiz. The bout was merely seen as a major step for Anthony into the US boxing market and a way to lift his profile there. It had been anticipated that this fight would be a walk over for Joshua before a unification bout with American Deontay Wilder. Unfortunately for both of them that was not to be after Joshua suffered a technical knock-out in the seventh round.

What comes after this shock loss for Anthony Joshua remains to be seen. It is likely that he will jump straight back on his training mats whilst plotting his revenge against Ruiz. It is unlikely that Joshua will want to wait very long before a rematch which could either make or break his thus far illustrious boxing career. With a gym full of jigsaw mats and great trainers he has a very good chance of regaining the three titles he lost.

Price of Jigsaw Puzzle Mats Casualty of Trumps Trade War

The current trade war between the two world economic super powers looks like it way have an effect on the price of jigsaw puzzle mats. The conflict between China and Donald Trump has rattled world markets which in turn has cause the AUD to drop against the USD. Trumps trade war with China is here to stay.

This has already cause the price of tatami mats and MMA mats to be revised upwards. It would appear that the price of jigsaw puzzle mats will be the next casualty. The price of jigsaw puzzle mats has already weathered some steep declines in the AUD. It is not sure how much more it will take before importers are forced to increase pricing.

Not Just Puzzle Mats

Jigsaw puzzle mats are by far the most popular mat used from training. They are used in a large cross-section of industries so the effect will be felt by a broad section of the economy. Our training mats are a sought after product by professional and individuals alike.

On a side note yes I know what I have used the Taiwanese flag as the feature image. That is because firstly I like the look of the flag. Secondly Taiwan is caught in the middle between China and America so I thought it would be a fitting symbol of the divide facing the two countries economically, militarily, politically, ideologically and spiritually.

Here are Ezy Mats we don’t take sides in Trumps trade war with China. We are just reporting the facts as they pertain to jigsaw puzzle mats and other gym mats. On a positive note we just received our first shipment of MMA mats from Germany.

Trumps trade war with China

MMA Mats and Tatami Mats Price Rise as AUD Falls

Tatami Mats Price Rise

The trade war between China and America is finally taking its effect on the price of good. The rising prices are not just in America but also in Australia. The strong link between China’s economy and Australia’s has had a profound effect on the Australian dollar with its first casualties being tatami mats and MMA mats. The price of both mats has risen over the past couple of days and is certain to stay there for some time in the future.

China announced that it would raise tariffs on a range of US products in retaliation for an announced rise in US tariffs last week. This tariff will increase from 10% to 25% on $80Billion dollars worth of goods. What effect it will have is anyones guess.

In return Trump has declared that he will be raising tariff on a further $350Billion worth of Chinese goods which will mean almost all the goods imported into USA from China will be subject to tariffs. The effect of the new tariffs was to spook the markets which has been the cause of the decline in the Australian Dollar.

The Australian dollar has been lower. 0.7000 for the past weeks and it declined further overnight. After reaching levels around 0.6915 the immediate reaction was for increased pricing for MMA Mats and tatami mats. The reason for this is because margins on MMA mats and tatami mats is much lower than jigsaw mats.

Jigsaw mats are much cheaper than MMA Mats and jigsaw mats and are much cheaper to ship from China. As such they are more resilient when the local currency drops. That’s not to say that there won’t be price rises for jigsaw mats in the future as well.

Australian Dollar Drops Below $0.70 Will Effect Jigsaw Mats

The Australian Dollar closed below 0.7000 for the AUDUSD rate which was the third in four days. Although there was no Australian data to cause the drop in the dollar, a report from JP Morgan provided solid evidence that sectors such as construction and manufacturing are shedding jobs. Although the renewed negativity coming from US President Donald Trump regarding the trade war with China pushed investors toward the safe haven USD.

This new low for the AUD will put pressure on imported goods. Particularly jigsaw mats and MMA mats which are highly sensitive to fluctuations in the currency markets. There has already been pressure on the price of jigsaw mats and MMA mats for some time. The AUD has been trending below its average value for a while now and recent further drops could final bring the price of training mats to move up. The only thing that might bring relief for the AUD is if the US Federal Reserve where to drop interest rate below the Reserve Bank of Australia. Although this is looking highly unlikely.

Conor McGregor Retires From MMA

The former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts via Twitter. The UFC star Conor McGregor is also under investigation for an alleged sexual assault in his native Ireland.

Whilst he has not been charged the incident is under police investigation. It has been reported that McGregor, 30, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in December in Dublin, and was arrested and released after questioning the next month.

This comes after another incident earlier in which Conor allegedly smash someones phone. That incident was also a source of controversy all things considered. It is looking highly unlikely that the MMA fighter will make it back on the MMA mat any time soon.

Whilst it is easy to stay out of trouble for most people that changes when you jump on an MMA mat. So when you just thought Conor McGregor retires is a reality another one dawns. It ain’t always easy being “squeezy”.

Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor Retires

MMA Fighter Conor McGregor Arrested

UFC star and MMA fighter Conor McGregor arrested after allegedly knocking a mobile phone our of a fans hands and then stomping on it. It would seem a very out of character thing to do for the usually calm and collection fighter. Conor is not usually known for breaking the law or doing outrageous things like this. He is more known for the time he spends on the MMA mat training for upcoming fights and just keeping himself fit in general.

What are the allegations?

The allegations to this event are that the fan and McGregor were leaving a Miami Beach hotel when the fan tried to take a picture with the MMA fighter with a cell phone, according to a police report. McGregor then slapped the phone out of the fan’s hand and stomped on the phone several times. For this McGregor was arrested on charges of felony strong-armed robbery and criminal mischief. It is unknown how this will play out as it is presumably in the hands of McGregor’s lawyers and the courts.

What will Conor do next?

It is unclear who McGregor will fight next. His last fight was against Khabib Nurmagomedov where he lost via submission. He is probably busy training on his MMA mats in his gym keeping fit for the next fight opportunity.

While he has been pushing for a rematch with Mayweather, that is unlikely to happen after his previous defeat to the boxing legend. Whoever he choses to fight it should probably not be another fan with a mobile phone. He is better off keeping the action on the jigsaw mats.

Conor McGregor Arrested

AUD Drops After RBA Comments

The price of martial arts mats is at risk of rising after comments by the RBA cause the value of the Australian Dollar to drop. The AUD drops after RBA comments indicated that the next interest rate movement could just as easily be down as up. This is after marketing expectations had largely been in favour of the increase of interest rates in the next year.

The AUD is being weighed down by lacklustre growth figure and inflation figures. Both of which have been impacted by weakness in the housing market and consumer demand. This coupled with the dark cloud brewing over the world economy are further causing strain on the AUD.

It is expected that the weakness in the AUD with put pressure on the price of imported goods. This will impact on the price of jigsaw mats and well as other training mats. Jigsaw mats and MMA mats are generally an imported item which is sensitive against a devaluing AUD. It is expected that the price of jigsaw mats and MMA mats will increase in the immediate future if the lower AUD persists.

AUD Drops After RBA Comments

Tatami Jigsaw Mats at Southern Cross Mats

Southern Cross Mats have decided to add tatami jigsaw mats to their extensive range of martial arts mats. The new mats are jigsaw mats with tatami finish. Currently the jigsaw mats come with a T-stripe which will continue to be part of the range.

New Jigsaw Tatami Mats

The new jigsaw tatami mat is for people looking for a more traditional tatami surface such as those found on tatami mats. Tatami mats are easily recognised by their tatami finish which is the same as grass tatami mats that can be found in tradition Japanese houses and buildings.

SC Mats jigsaw mats are a very popular mat for training in martial arts. The addition of this new textured surface make our tatami jigsaw mats are a great low cost alternative to regular tatami mats.

Traditional Tatami Mats

Tatami mats are popular with martial arts like judo, jiu-jitsu, aikido etc. The new surface is suitable for people who want to create a more traditional training environment for their students.

Trump Say US may make trade deal with China

To the surprise to many it appears that US President Donald Trump has held out hope of a trade deal with China. He is not backing down on tit-for-tat tariffs as the trade war escalates but feels it could eventually happen.

A day after imposing new tariffs on nearly $US200 billion Chinese imports and threatening more if China retaliates, President Donald Trump has left the door open for China to negotiate an end to the trade war between Washington and Beijing. During a speech to reporters on Tuesday while visiting with the Polish President, Trump implied the US may make a deal with China. Trump said that he is always open to talking, “We’re having a tremendous impact on China. We’re doing a very good job with China,” he said before threatening to add tariffs to $US267 billion of Chinese goods if Beijing dares to retaliate.

Amongst the goods that Donald Trump is placing new tariffs on include, but are not limited to, foam mats, puzzle mats and jigsaw mats. It seems that a disproportionate attention is being aimed at gym mats, which is strange considering that Americans like to train. Also they are not a major manufacturer of training mats.

China has indicated that they would go ahead with more tariffs of their own but their options are limited considering that the US import far more goods from China then vice versa. It would be ironic if China decided to impose their own tariff on gym mats from the USA. It is unlikely that China imports any gym mats from USA other then some specialist mats that are not currently manufactured in China.

Canelo Alvarez Stops Golovkin on the Mat

In their much anticipated boxing match Canelo Alvarez went on to beat Golovkin via decision. In what was a very competitive fight the two of the three judges gave it to Canelo 115-113. It gave Alvarez the title via majority decision with the third judge scored it a 114-114 draw.

The fight was widely seen as a great fight with both fighters giving it their all. There is already talk of another Alvarez vs Canelo fight in the future to continue the rivalry. Both fighter would be wise to get back on their gym mats and training their hearts out until the next competition. Any fighter worth their weight in gold would spend most of their time training in their gym on their gym mats.

In the other fight Canada’s David Lemieux was victorious in the first round of his fight with Irish fighter Gary O’Sullivan. After hitting O’Sullivan with a savage left hook the Irish fighter on the foam mat.

Lemieux was not happy after O’Sullivan team’s talked trash in the lead up to the fight. He gave them an emphatic response with his victory.

In reponse to the trash talking Lemieux said “Don’t p*** me off guys,”. “I guess the message must be clear, I don’t like the trash talking at all that was done to me from O’Sullivan’s side so I kept it in me and I put to the right timing.

“I’m a respectable fighter, I come in the ring, I don’t disrespect my opponents, I train hard, I don’t trash talk and I respect that kind of behaviour.

“I felt great, I’m in superb shape. I gave you all a great knockout and a great event so I hope you’re all happy.”

Lemieux had previously fought Gennady Golovkin in 2015, said he’d like another shot at the champion. He would also like a shot at Alvarez he confirmed. Boxing ring generally use canvas but interlocking mats are also used in some gym setups.

“I’m not rooting for anybody, I want to fight both of them,” he said in the post-bout interview.

“I think it’s a 50-50 chance fight. Canelo is an excellent boxer, so is Golovkin. It’s going to be an interesting fight”.

As it is Canelo went on to beat Golovkin via decision. In what was a very competitive fight the two of the three judges gave it to Canelo 115-113. It gave Alvarez the title via majority decision with the third judge scored it a 114-114 draw.

Canelo Alvarez Stops Golovkin