Celebrating 30 years in the martial arts business is about celebrating a legacy of leadership. Driven by a desire to support martial artists and achieve higher levels of safety for the sport, Macho’s influence on the martial arts community is evident in every head, kick or punch on the market today. Many standard design features were once Macho patented innovations.

Macho was the first company to:
* Use elastic and Velcro closures, specifically the criss-cross strap design on kicks.
* Kicks and shins used to be flat pieces of foam before Macho contoured them to the body.
* Chest protection was nothing more than dense padding before Macho integrated impact-dispersing trauma shields between layers of foam.
* And if designing headgear wasn’t enough, the widely copied ear-release canal for eardrum protection was a patented Macho design innovation as well.



Humble Beginnings
For all this achievement, its story is really rather a humble one. Founder and tae kwon do master Soo Se Cho enlisted several students to help him design gear that would help them train harder, but safer. They gathered in a small garage dipping gear by hand and testing the first prototypes on each other. Today, Macho’s home is a 90,000-square-foot state-of-the art facility in Sebastian, FL with all the latest warehouse and fulfillment technology to ensure premier customer service and quality control. The lush and serene setting in the midst of a nature preserve in rural Florida complements the spiritual and inspirational aspects of Macho’s obsession with innovation and craftsmanship in martial arts. Master Cho retired many years ago but his legacy lives on in the employee-owned and operated industry leader.

“Design with every advantage,” Cho would often say. “If you limit the imagination, you will limit innovation. Remember, the people who use our products can be our best teachers.”

Famous Family
As you travel through the facility, famous faces dot the walls on posters and in past catalogs demonstrating the relationships that Macho has nurtured through the years. Macho luminaries include Christine Bannon-Rodrigues, Mike Chaturantubut, Herb Perez, Juan Moreno and Larry Lam.

Macho had become so respected for truly understanding the properties of blunt-trauma impact protection that in 1984 it was asked to design a special line of gear for training the Secret Service. This request led Macho to design a full line defensive tactics training gear for law enforcement and military.

Today RedMan Training Gear, a division of Macho products, serves major law enforcement and military agencies throughout the world with its cutting-edge, protective training line designed to prepare officers from initial confrontation through lethal force. The US Army, Navy, Special Operation Forces and Border Patrol are just some of the agencies using RedMan Training Gear.
As you enter the R&D lab, mixed among high-performance testing equipment and prototypes, designers are in the final testing and evaluation phase on Macho’s newest line of sparring gear, Macho Genesis.

A Martial Arts Genesis
The new Macho Genesis line is exciting because it represents 30 years of research, testing, trials and error. What started as a vision to give martial artists a competitive edge has turned into personal passion to push the limits and design for performance, safety, comfort and feel. Over the years Macho has introduced top-selling hits like the Macho Dyna and Macho Warrior lines. It’s also tested the waters with new technologies, like the M2000 head introduced in 1997, with injection-molded foam technology; or the patented Macho XP in 2003, which was by far the safest gear in the martial arts market. But its comfort and feel did not win over the high-level competitor.

In 2005, Macho joined other industry veterans to fight for headgear-testing standards that would help alleviate head injuries associated with martial arts sparring. Macho was a member of the Martial Arts Headgear Committee chaired by Dr. Dennis Lieu (a martial artist and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California at Berkeley). With a reported 18.1 million Americans participating in martial arts at the time, Dr. Lieu worked with Macho to develop testing equipment and laboratory standards for identifying proper impact dispersion in protective foam headgear. Dr Lieu’s more than 20 years of research in martial arts headgear was critical to the passage of the ASTM headgear manufacturing standard—a first for the industry.

“We are proud of our part to secure ASTM headgear standards,” says Macho CEO Amir Shadab. “Macho has always been dedicated to headgear quality and safety and we knew we needed to be involved in such a milestone event for the industry.”

Changing the Industry
Today marks a new era. Armed with historic data, competitive information, testing criteria and performance feedback from leading martial artists—Macho Genesis meets Macho’s rigid testing criteria, and its low-profile, specially formulated lightweight thermoformed foam offers a sleek design that is sure to inspire.

The Macho Genesis Kick features a different strapping system for more ankle support. The Macho Genesis Punches provides increased wrist support and protection.

“Many of our designs have helped change the shape of our industry, and we think this will do it again,” states Mohan Ableman, vice president of research and development and one of Macho’s founding employees.
Macho stays connected to the industry by traveling to tournaments, meeting with martial arts school owners and their students and listening to their needs. Macho believes in the importance of taking care of martial artists as they try to achieve their goals. Sometimes, it’s through team and individual sponsorship. But in general, it’s in the knowledge that they are training in gear that’s been tested for performance and safety.

The Passion Continues
Known for being the first so many times over, Macho has made 2010 a year of renewed fervor to continue this tradition. Macho remains focused on the pure discipline of martial arts, the martial artist and the school owner. Quality gear, uniforms and training products are the mainstay of Macho. A new branding campaign, pricing plan for school owners, improved and faster shipping options,new products, improved website for consumers, team sponsorships, and industry partnerships are just a few of the recent developments at Macho.

The New Macho.com
Macho has unveiled a new retail website at macho.com with improved online customer features, including live chat and call center support. Macho plans to be more active online with expanded online offerings, and more activity, conversations and promotions on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube.

Macho Products’ commitment to being the best started three decades ago. And it shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Did You Know?
In 1984, Macho was asked to design a special line of gear for training the Secret Service.

Up Close
Name: Macho Products
Date Created: 1980
Founder: Master Soo Se Cho
Current CEO: Amir Shadab
Headquarters: Sebastian, FL
Contact: www.macho.com
Finding Macho: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter