So, I heard about this guy, Amir Anderson, and his boxing stuff. Some folks were saying he’s the real deal, old school. Others were like, nah, too hardcore, kinda rough. Curiosity got the better of me, you know? Had to see for myself what the fuss was about.
I decided to jump in, signed up for a block of sessions. First time walking into his gym, it wasn’t one of those shiny, modern places. Nope. It was rough around the edges, smelled like sweat and hard work. Honestly, I kinda dug that vibe right away. Felt authentic.
Getting Started
Amir, well, he wasn’t a big talker initially. Just stood there, arms crossed, watching everyone. Then he’d step in, point something out. Super direct. No messing about. If your guard was sloppy, he’d tell you straight up. No “maybe try lifting your hand a bit”. Just “Guard up. Now.”
The workouts? Man, they were something else. Brutal conditioning was the name of the game before we even thought about gloves. I went in thinking I was in okay shape. Ha! Fifteen minutes in, I felt like my lungs were gonna pack their bags and leave. We did endless rounds of:
- Skipping until your calves screamed
- Push-ups, sit-ups, burpees – felt like thousands
- Shadow boxing focused purely on form, not speed
He hammered the basics. Footwork, jab, cross, hook. Over, and over, and over again. Forget fancy combos or weaving like Ali right away. Amir kept saying, “Foundation first. Always.” If your feet weren’t right, nothing else mattered. Seemed boring sometimes, but looking back, he had a point.
The Process
I remember this one time, I kept messing up my pivot on the hook. Getting really annoyed with myself. Amir didn’t shout or anything. He just walked over, tapped my back foot with a focus mitt, real light, and said, “Here. Move it here. Again.” Simple as that. No drama. Made me slow down, think about it, and damn if it didn’t start to click.
Lots of people didn’t stick around. You’d see new faces one week, gone the next. Guess the intensity wasn’t for everyone, or maybe they wanted to learn killer moves on day one. Amir never seemed fussed. He just poured his energy into the folks who kept showing up, the ones willing to grind through the basics.
For me, it wasn’t really about becoming a fighter. It was more about the challenge, you know? Building some grit. Amir’s whole approach, that directness, it wasn’t mean or personal. It felt… focused. Like he was cutting through all the fluff to get to what mattered. The hard work.
My Takeaway
I trained there for maybe six months, pretty consistently. Definitely got tougher, physically and mentally. My jab actually got kinda sharp, which surprised me. Could hold my own a bit in light sparring drills by the end.
Life happens, right? Things got busy, other commitments popped up, so I couldn’t keep going as regularly. But that whole experience with Amir Anderson’s boxing? It stuck with me. That relentless focus on fundamentals, the value of just showing up and doing the work, even when it’s tedious. Yeah, learned a lot more than just how to throw a punch.
