Wood River Senior Takes to the Mat
By Jonathan Kane
Amelia Sage Anderson, a senior at Wood River High School, can be a lot to handle in the ring. That’s primarily because she has been training, in her words, “for as long as I can remember.”
At Wood River High School, Anderson is a proud member of the cheerleading squad and a participant in the Spirit Club. She is also an avid skier and hiker and said that her passion in life is “to make people happy.”
But her real talents are apparent in the ring, and her goal in life is to be a professional fighter in mixed martial arts.
“My dad, Lee Anderson, is a coach, so it was natural for me to get involved,” Anderson said.
Lee Anderson runs the USA Grappling Academy in Bellevue.
“It was my favorite thing to do as a kid,” said Amelia. “I was so little that I wasn’t an active participant, although in my mind I was. I remember that we had a lot of punching bags––not connected to the ceiling but on the ground, like an obstacle course. I would do laps around them and jump over and roll around on them. It was extremely fun. I used to tell my dad that I did 500 laps.”
There are various aspects to mixed martial arts, including jiu-jitsu, kickboxing and normal boxing. Anderson excels in jiu-jitsu, which she started training in at age 5.
“That’s when my dad told me that even though he had a lot of older girls in the class, I was better than a lot of them,” she said.
Amelia learned the four basics of the discipline: stand up on base, sitting on base, rear naked choke and sprawling.
Jiu-jitsu is a gentle form of self-defense in which one protects oneself without harming someone, as opposed to kickboxing, where there is possible harm to one’s opponent, according to Anderson.
“It’s something that I can do with the family,” said Anderson, “because you’re not hurting anyone and my dad made it a lot more interesting than if I had learned with someone else. As I got older, I was able to observe kickboxing and soon learned it myself.”
Anderson began competing in jiu-jitsu at age 8 in various tournaments in Idaho.
“I did very well for my belt division––gold,” she said.
There are various belt designations and black is the highest, which takes a long time to achieve. Your coach––in this case, Anderson’s father––is in charge of the designations.
“My dad is old school and you really have to earn and deserve it,” Amelia said.” It’s mostly based on how you are progressing and your motivation.”
Amelia is currently a blue belt, with purple and brown to go until she achieves black belt. She feels this is attainable in her 30s with great commitment and a lot of competitions.
Editor’s Note: Anyone who would like to recommend a Blaine County School District student for The Weekly Sun’s “Student Spotlight” feature should contact Jonathan Kane at jkjonkane@gmail.com.