The Same, But Different
The Phoenix Aikido Club has a very nice new mat, replacing the trusty, ageing, increasingly patched mat that has been down for at least the last 15 years as far as I can remember.
The new mat is the same blue, but has a lot more tooth to it, so breakfalls feel quite different. It’s much easier to grip with the feet, but I suspect it will also be much easier to get mat burns now. It will need tightening again soon as it stretches with use, but it’s great improvement on it’s predecessor.