Tuesday evenings at Davidson Park during the summer have one thing in common: kickboxing. Fitness opportunities are just one offering from the year-old 4.8-acre Near West Side park, home to a 260-by-272‑foot amphitheater and many events and gatherings.
A few weeks ago, I carved an hour out of my dreadfully busy schedule as a 21-year-old living in Milwaukee on his summer break to see what “Kickboxing for Wellness” was all about. Here’s how it went:
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Kickboxing: It’s as difficult as you make it
One of the first things you will see when you arrive to the middle of the amphitheater at Davidson Park is instructor Alvin Wang and his smiling face. Wang started Kickboxing for Wellness just over two months ago in partnership with the Near West Side and Swim MKE, hoping to bring wellness to everybody, especially those with trauma.
“I started it and I like to share it because I feel like people who are having trouble can always improve themselves by just focusing on one thing, which is the kickboxing class,” Wang said.
After meeting Wang and talking to him for a couple of minutes, 5:30 p.m. had quickly approached – it was time to begin. We were put through a warm-up routine of some jumping jacks, high-knees and a few other exercises that got the heart pumping. As it happens, it gets pretty hot in the summer in the Midwest, so drinking water periodically throughout the hour-long class was vastly important in keeping me going.
One of the best things about Kickboxing for Wellness is that it doesn’t matter whether you have been kickboxing for a decade or are doing it for the first time, Wang will make you feel right at home. The class I was in was full of people like me who hadn’t kickboxed a day in their lives, so the skill level across the board was pretty much universally bad. But people don’t come to these classes to become kickboxing masters. They come to have fun, meet people and stay in good physical and mental shape.
“The biggest benefit is that we are working and keeping our bodies healthy,” Wang said. “But it’s also mentally as well. When you come in and get together with a collective group of people that are here to improve themselves and encourage each other in a safe space where nobody is making any judgements, that’s the biggest thing.”
We started off with the basics of kickboxing, such as footwork and basic punches. This was definitely the easiest and least physically demanding part of the class. After learning the basics, things got a little more serious. We were able to start throwing some punches along with our newly learned and mostly correct (in my case, at least) footwork. We even learned how to dodge punches and properly kick, and by this time I had worked up a full sweat.
Wang stresses that everyone can go at their own pace during the workout, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to let you off easy. He was constantly pushing us to do our best, even when we felt tired or wanted to take it easy for a second.
After 45 minutes of kickboxing in the sweltering heat of Milwaukee, it was time to break out the weights and do some core. Each hand now held two pounds while we punched, kicked and squatted. It doesn’t sound like a lot to add, but trust me, it wears on you quickly.
The workout finished with some bodyweight squats, push-ups and planks. After an hour of fun (and minimal pain), the workout was over.
“It was a great workout,” first-time attendee Daniel Levit said. “We got to learn a lot of moves, techniques, it was fun to get that stuff down. The people are super friendly here. It was a great time.”
“It’s a great way to bring people together”
When he’s not teaching group fitness, Wang is doing personal training. His fitness journey started as a teenager.
“During high school, I was a really obese kid; I was like 240 pounds,” Wang said. “I didn’t really feel like I was depressed, but I had some mental health things going on. My cousin introduced me to the gym, and from there I got introduced to Muay Thai out of a gym in LA, and from there that’s really where I found myself.”
Wang finished college with a degree in chemistry but soon realized chemistry wasn’t the space for him. He now does personal training and group fitness full-time.
“I’m just trying to share my experience and my journey and all the lessons I’ve learned with everybody, and I feel like the easiest way to do that, and the fastest, is through group fitness,” Wang said.
“It’s a great way to bring people together,” Levit said. “The topic of mental health and wellness is so important. This is a great way to spend your time and use your body. It’s also a great way to push yourself and do something good for yourself.”
Kickboxing for Wellness runs every Tuesday evening from 5:30-6:30 p.m. for the rest of the summer. More information can be found on the Near West Side website.
