Jigsaw safety mats - edging?

Question

i recently bought some mats from black-eagle.co.uk to practise BJJ on and they are great. but the only problem is the edging.

i bought 12 of them and have layed them out 3 x 4 but the edging doesn't seem to fit all the way round. i have considered trimming the edges but i will see if i can get any answers from here first.

i got the mats from here: http://www.black-eagle.co.uk/40mm-multi-purpose-reversible-safety-mats-blue-p-879.html

Answer 1

Hi, I put together jigsaw mats every week for a local ju-jitsu club, and they can be a pain to fit together! Don't trim the edges, because you will end up with gaps inbetween the mats, which can be dangerous if your foot or hand gets caught up.

The mats do fit together with the edging, believe it or not. It just takes a little time to get them the right way round. Try turning them over and rotating them until they fit. When you have them fitted together properly, I recommend you use a permanent black marker and number the mats, so that you know which order and which way round to put them in the next time.

If you still have trouble with it, perhaps just leave the edging off? It shouldn't affect the use of the mats, as it is mainly to make it look neater.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I've set up two dojos with puzzle mats and I don't use the trim ends. You can trim the sides if it is a good quality mat. Measure twice and mark carefully. I've used a table saw and was able to make clean cuts to make the mats fit perfectly from wall to wall. The cut edges look very clean. Just make sure you know how to cut correctly.

Answer 3

We use similar puzzle mats when doing ground fighting and we just left them as is, no edging.  Besides making it look prettier, they really don't serve a purpose.   If someone is going to trip on them, they will if it has smooth edges or the puzzle edges.  By leaving them on, we do not have to worry about putting the right mat in the right spot, and can build it to any size we want.