Do you have problems ordering through "Century" Martial arts catalog?

First I must say that Century is as bad as any McDojo. I bought from them when they first opened for business. They have proven that they are just greedy. It is evident in the crap they sell. 90% of the items they sell are simply cheap junk. I buy my martial arts supplies from Ryu Kyu Enterprises, in Orange California. They are distributors for Shureido. The R.E.I. brand Gi are almost exactly like the Shureido uniforms but are cheaper than the Shureido Gi. The weapons they sell, Bo, Sai, Nunchaku, Eaku, .....etc. are the real thing, not the crap sold by Century, Asian World, and the other prostitutes of the martial arts supplies business. The Sai they sell for example cost around $145-$185 a pair. but if you ever use a pair, you will never buy anything else. Having owned at least 10-12 different pair of Sai, the Shureido are the only ones I'll even use.

But you must also know that Ryu Kyu Enterprises and Shureido don't make lighted kama, or lighted Nunchaku, or any other flashy trashy weapons. They make and sell some of the finest uniforms, weapons and training equipment available.

As for Century orders..... All I can say is that when I was buying form them, I had no problems with getting the correct items, sizes, ....etc. But then they have grown so large that I'm not surprised if the company has lost its customer support.

This is a great question. I've actually been thinking about this recently. I have been studying and training in Taekwondo for the past 4 years. I recently received my black belt. For most of my training, I saw Taekwondo as nothing more than a sport and physical defense system. Until about a year before I got my black belt, I did not implement a lifestyle change. My black belt test was very difficult. I failed part of the test the first time. It's almost as if failing it has taught me something. That without the "art" in martial arts, all that is left is fighting. And my Master was not going to promote me to black belt if I only believed in fighting. I got my act together, and finally passed the test once I retook it later. Martial arts is my life now. I work at my Dojang and wish I could live there too. I am in charge of supervising the young children and white belts, and cleaning the Dojang. Everything I do is under the supervision of my Master and instructors. I believe that many martial arts have moved away from the "art". Many styles now have replaced meditation and studying with backflips and cartwheels. When people find out I am a black belt, they ask me if I can beat people up and if I have ever been in a fight. That's not what black belt is about. Black belt means you have overcome the MENTAL obstacles in addition to the physical ones. I do not think it is fair to say that certain styles as a whole have diverted away from the art side of martial arts. I think that it is up to the instructor in each school. Lousy instructor, lousy students. I hope I helped. Good luck.

I have a wholesale account with Century and do 80% of my business with them and have for many years now. I have noticed this problem lately though and they may have a large number of non English reading Latinos working the ware house. That area of the country has really grown for that segment of the population in recent years. Century is also very good about replacing and changing things so call and talk to the customer service people and I think you will find them very helpful and they will certainly make adjustments and credit your account or even let you keep that which you have and send you the right thing. Also let them know that you don't want any substitutes as sometimes they will do that but if you account is flagged and indicates that then they won't substitute things.

We order from Century, Asian World of Martial Arts, KWON USA, Bold Look, Kamikaze, E-Bogu, Tiger Claw and a slew of others. Out of all these Kamikaze has the best quality for real Martial Arts items at a decent cost and KWON is pretty good as well...but they cost more than Century.

Century is terrible. Their customer service stinks, they inflate their shipping to make money and what is worse is that they sell crappy items. I agree that they are the McDojo of the merchandising world in Martial Arts.

I would try Tiger Claw or Asian World if you into ordering non-traditional stuff like you stated but it does not sound like you have a wholesale account with them. Without the wholesale account you have to charge the price in the book plus shipping. If you do not and your students find out they will quit ordering from you and possibly quit your dojo because you are inflating the costs.

I have used Century Martial arts catalog for years, 25 years to be exact and very seldom have had a problem. The couple of times I did have a problem, it was my fault and Century resolved the problem right away.

i stopped using them about 18 to 20 years ago, i like pugpaws, i didnt like there quality,i never had any issues getting my order, but then i had an account rep for them way back then.

there are much better places you can order from then them, pugpaws already mentioned some of the top of one's