Marcelo inquires as to whether or not his students notice any tactical differences due to a brand new mat installation: We cannot control what kind of ground reaction forces we might encounter when it comes to the type of mats used for certain competitions; if your game is dependent on a particular familiarity with a training surface, you may experience a surprising setback. For example, some guard-players rely on being able to slide (even as far as out-of-bounds) when placed under immense pressure passing. This is especially evident when they are employing recovery strategies like the so-called Foot-Wipe (or Lasso) Recovery, wherein an opponent will swing there foot inside and place the sole against your chest, shoulder, or biceps. Conversely, thin puzzle-style mats oftentimes offer much more gripping power and stickiness that can spell disaster for anyone looking to take advantage of slippery evasive maneuvers.