Coaches and trainers hope to give kids an outlet for their mental and physical health through the sport of boxing.
After Kona Boxing Club was shut down during COVID-19, many people were left without an outlet for training, especially since there were no alternatives for boxing in West Hawaii.
With decades of boxing under his belt, Kaleo Padilla decided to open Kona Gold Boxing Club with his wife, Misti, as part of their nonprofit, the Ikakamauloa Youth Foundation, or IYF.
“When we were in lockdown, my husband formed a separate entity to our foundation as we were approached by the community looking for health and wellness opportunities for keiki,” Misti Padilla said. “There were a handful of kids with nowhere to train during lockdown and many youth ended up fighting on the streets.”
To help get people in a gym, the couple opened the Kona Gold Boxing Club in Hale Kui Plaza, 73-5619 Kauhola St., and have been operating in Kailua-Kona for about three years.
The couple established the foundation after they lost their son, Samson Ikaikamauloa Kaukahokuikalani, a day after his birth to undetected pneumonia.
“The foundation was created with faith, hope and love in memory of our son,” Misti Padilla said. “At IYF, there is a special emphasis on being of service to those that have experienced grief and loss from losing their most precious little ones.”
The goal of IYF is to provide youth with opportunities for engagement that focus upon resilience, empowerment and health and wellness education. With their history of boxing, Kona Gold Boxing was the perfect addition to the foundation, according to the Padillas.
“Families often approach my husband when they find out their kids are getting bullied. Parents want them to use boxing to build their self-confidence to better handle the world as it gets crazier,” Misti Padilla said. “Sometimes we have kids from families going through hard times that need a place to express themselves.”
Kona Gold Boxing Club charges for adult and kids classes; however, the Padillas offer a Golden Grades program, which gives kids on the honor roll free membership for that quarter.
Since the formation of Kona Gold, the Padillas have been able to put on three boxing events, or tournaments for the kids.
This year, IYF will be partnering with the Hawaii Island Police Activities League, or HI-PAL, to put on a Youth Boxing Spring Showdown at the Old Kona Airport Main Event Pavilion on Friday, March 22.
Officers working in HI-PAL help organize events and volunteer during the activities, which are geared toward keiki as a way to help bridge gaps between the community and the police. Kona Community Policing Officer Leonard Warren has been organizing events for a couple years after COVID-19 caused activities to slow down.
“HI-PAL is great for keiki in our community because it shows them a side of police officers they don’t normally see. We’re normal people out of uniform,” Warren said. “It’s great to see them have fun with smiles on their faces, especially when it involves kids from different backgrounds.”
Warren decided to partner with Kona Gold for the main event this year since they are registered with USA Boxing and can bring kids from around the country together for the event.
“Many people in the community have told me that one of the first events HI-PAL helped organize was a boxing tournament and many have asked for it to come back,” Warren said. “We partner with many different organizations, so this seemed like a great time to partner with the nonprofit, IYF.”
Forty kids from across the country will have the opportunity to participate and will be paired with someone according to weight, age and experience level. Girls and boys will be allowed to box each other as long as their weights match up.
Twenty bouts are planned for boys and girls, ages 8 to 17, with pre-matching done on a first come, first serve basis prior to event. Those interested in joining must be registered with USA Boxing.
While they have already received over 60 applicants, the Padillas encourage more keiki to register so they can make more matches and have back-up fighters.
“It takes a lot of money and time to put on a good tournament, so we’re very thankful to partner with HI-PAL to make this a great event,” Misti Padilla said. “Judges, referees and everyone else working will be volunteers from HI-PAL, our nonprofit and the community.”
The Padillas hope the event brings more support to IYF, so they can put on more events and sponsor more kids at the gym.
“We have amazing support and sponsors that donate to the betterment of the gym and we wouldn’t be able to be as successful without them,” Misti Padilla said. “We do want to offer more opportunities to kids, because seeing them train and build relationships, as well as their confidence and physical abilities, is so rewarding. Kids need us and we will do whatever it takes to keep going.”
The Youth Boxing Spring Showdown will begin at 5 p.m., with weigh-ins at 8 a.m., at the Old Kona Airport Main Event Pavilion on Friday, March 22. Registration can be found at ikaikamauloa.com.
Keiki on the east side also have opportunities to build their confidence and physical skills through a different fighting style: kickboxing.
Delbert and Kanoe Grace opened their training gym, Grace Kickboxing, over a year ago. They offer group and private classes for keiki, women and adults each week in downtown Hilo at 110 Haili St.
While boxing allows fighters to use only fists, kickboxing utilizes the hands, feet, shins, elbows and knees.
“Personally, kickboxing changed my life. It gave me confidence and helped me learn life skills, which is what we try to do for kids,” Delbert Grace said. “Just like in a fight, with life you can’t stop and you can’t give up.”
Many parents bring their kids to Grace Kickboxing to see if they are interested in the sport and to keep them active and healthy. If they keep up with training, kids may have the opportunity to compete in fights on the Big Island and Oahu.
“We participate in a couple tournaments on this island or Oahu and for those competing, they have to be dedicated to coming to practice,” Kanoe Grace said. “There aren’t as many competitions as we’d like here, but there is opportunity.”
Wally Carvalho, whose father trained Delbert Grace as a kid, hosts the Toughman Hawaii Kickboxing competitions every year, where competitors from across the state face each other in a ring. The first competition of this year will be in April.
While kickboxing is a great physical outlet for kids, the Graces also hope to inspire kids to improve upon their life skills, dream big and always aim for their goals.
“Truthfully, this sport can help keep kids off the streets and teach them respect and responsibility,” Delbert Grace said. “I try to teach more than kickboxing, because I want to help them achieve everything they want in life.”
For more information on adult, women’s, private and keiki kickboxing classes on the east side, visit gracekickboxing.com.
For more information on men’s, women’s and all-ages boxing classes on the west side, visit ikaikamauloa.com.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com