Antony answered the following 10 questions for this month's USA Taekwondo Athlete Profile...

Q1: What are your goals in Taekwondo?

ANTONY GRAF: Specific goals are to win at Worlds and Olympics. General goals are to beat every opponent I face, not to look too far forward and only to face that which is in front of me now. To that end all of my goals are broken down into smaller ones: one drill at a time, one training at a time, one point at a time, one opponent at a time. If you achieve as many of your smaller goals as possible, the bigger, long-term ones will fall into place.

Q2: Do you ever take a break from training?

ANTONY GRAF: I don’t take breaks as such, but the intensity of my training and the type of training I do (e.g. anaerobic, weights, technique) varies depending on where I am with the schedule of my competitions, injuries, etc. It kills me not to train. One of the worst times of my life was immediately following reconstructive knee surgery. The doctor told me I couldn’t kick for nine months. Two months later I fought Nationals, four months later I was on world team. Do I believe in breaks? Not really.

 Q3: What’s your future hold?

ANTONY GRAF: I’m very happy doing what I do now. I have my own practice as a personal trainer. I run a successful, albeit small, children’s tae kwon do program, and former National Team member Elisha Voren and I have developed a sport-specific training program for teen athletes called Kinematics. On the other hand, though, I’m always striving for more. I don’t plan for the future so much as I am good at capitalizing on opportunities that present themselves to me.

Q4: What is your all-time favorite movie and why?

ANTONY GRAF: Strangely enough, this is one of the toughest questions. As a native New Yorker, I was raised with a keen interest in the arts in general and especially film and music. I have lots of “favorite” movies, among which are gangster classics such as The Departed, Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, and The Godfather. Out of all these, though, I really love Casino. That movie is the best at showing just how dirty, violent, and bleak the life of a gangster is.

Q5: At 5'9", how do you explain your success in the middle/heavyweight divisions?

ANTONY GRAF: I think it’s important for every fighter to cut weight at least one point in his or her career. Cutting weight can be a remarkable test of character. On the other hand, I think fighters who are constantly cutting weight jeopardize both their health and their love of the sport. Conventional wisdom used to state that the ideal taekwondo athlete was as tall and skinny as his or her weight class would allow. At some point I decided I would rather be healthy and strong and make up for a lack of reach with superior technique and strategy. “Do not follow where the path may lead go, instead go where there is no path and leave a trail.”

 Q6: What’s the story behind the “H” missing from the traditional spelling of your first name?

ANTONY GRAF: Something many people don’t know about me is that I’m a first-generation American and that my parents emigrated from Germany. I grew up speaking German at home. So, the traditional spelling of my name in German is "Anton". I was named after the greatest man alive...my father. My parents Americanized my name slightly by adding the "Y" but they kept the "H" out. I’m grateful they did so, because I like to be reminded of my German heritage.

Q7: If not in the U.S., where would you live?

ANTONY GRAF: Even though I live in Miami, happiness to me isn’t measured by Mai Tais and sleeping on the beach. What is important to me is my continuing success, my family, and my health. As long as I have these things I would be happy anywhere.

Q8: Say a young Taekwondo athlete comes up to you and you can only give them one piece of advice – what do you tell them?

ANTONY GRAF: Don’t fight middleweight. On a serious note, the most important advice I could give is to teach him or her not just the value, but the absolute necessity of sacrifice. This is true in any endeavor, not just Taekwondo. In the final analysis, those who are successful tend to be those who are willing to do things and do without things that others will not. I can honestly say that the success and victories that I enjoy now could not have happened without all the money I’ve spent, the injuries I’ve endured, the time spent away from my family, and the good times and people that I’ve passed on.

Q9: You’ve just made the 2007 Pan American Games team. What was on your mind at the trials in Colorado Springs?

 ANTONY GRAF: Before my first fight, my coach, Juan Moreno, told me that I was faster, stronger, smarter, and tougher than any of my opponents and that if I maintained focus I would be fine. I believed him. By living in the now, sticking to my game plans, and focusing on one thing at a time, I won.

Q10: What has Taekwondo taught you about yourself?

 ANTONY GRAF: Before Taekwondo I was, for lack of a better word, a bad kid. The majority of my energy was negative and misdirected. At a crucial time in my life Taekwondo provided role models that were perfectly suited to my needs. I owe the greatest debt to Master Panagiotis Bardatsos, who instilled in me a sense of purpose and the core values typically associated with Taekwondo: respect, integrity, and hard work. Through old-fashioned tough love and discipline (let’s just say that our relationship was such that lawsuits were not a concern), I was able to grow from a rebellious teenager to the man and athlete that I am today.