Century was founded in 1976. Although we were on the small side then – just one man working out of his garage – we’ve since grown into the worldwide leader in martial arts equipment. Along the way, Century has been responsible for some major innovations within the industry.

We were one of the first martial arts companies to create a website, allowing our customers to easily place orders and access digital resources. Century has also designed some of the best known and most iconic pieces of martial arts gear, like the Wavemaster®, the original freestanding training bag, and the BOB® body opponent bag. BOB® bags frequently pop up in TV shows and movies, including ‘The Office,’ ‘Deadpool,’ ‘Justified,’ ‘Horrible Bosses,’ ‘Parks and Rec,’ ‘Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,’ and ‘Elementary,’ to name just a few!

One of the reasons why Century is so passionate about what we do is that many of our employees are themselves martial artists. Our founder, Mike Dillard, won two Karate National Championships during his time as a competitor. Some Century employees own or instruct at martial arts schools, or spend their after-work hours and weekends competing and training.

In 2005, Century took its employee involvement with martial arts a step further and converted two rooms in the company headquarters into training studios. Employees in the Century Martial Arts Club can take martial arts classes during lunch or after work, and, with certified instructors, actually advance and gain belt ranks.

This is especially significant to us, as Century makes most of the belts we sell on-site, in our Oklahoma City headquarters. Because we train, we understand what it means to earn a belt. We put the same pride and commitment into making them as you do wearing them.