Anastasia lives in Athens, Greece together with her family. She was born in 1998 and is still very much in high school. She started with Karate when she was 6 years old. After 2 years she started to train Ju-Jitsu at Titans Ju Jitsu club and from then she never stopped.
She is a black belt 1st Dan in Ju Jitsu
1. What is your biggest accomplishment in Ju-Jitsu
I have taken the 1st place in Duo System at the age of 15 and 1st place in Fighting system at the age of 16 in the World Championships.
2. What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?
My coach successfully combines both plysical exercise and the techniques that we train. I’m not doing something special, I’m just trying to be as focused as I can and give my best in every training. Also, we make a lot of fun in our training because we are very friendy and we are all very closed to each other, so that helps us to have good communication and good mood!
3. What would be your ultimate achievement?
When I will be over 18, I would be so excited if I could take part in the Combat games and represent my country in that huge tournament!
4. How do you set your goals?
I think that I’m very young to set my goals and I’m still growing up!.. so my coach helps me to set our goals together. Although, my plans now are to keep training and, when the right time comes, I would love to share all the knowledge that I have until then to other people and make them love it as I do. Until then, training training training!
5. What is your diet like?
I’m trying to include to my diet all the necessary foods and to avoid the sweets (that I loooove)! My breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I start my day by eating a lot and healthy! One thing that I eat often is meat.
6. Have you experienced a breakthrough, and if so, what led to it?
When I was 12 years old my coach told me that if I continued training like that I would reach the level of a girl (she was always my idol and I was her biggest fan) and maybe I would overcome her and get better! That changed everything in my mind.. it motivated me to try harder and harder and harder.. and from that day and then I was almost always taking gold medals. I think that these words from my coach have made me who I am now…
7. What was the best advice that you were ever given?
The best advice that has ever given to me is to never stop following my dreams. And that’s exactly what I did and I will always do! Also, my coach has adviced me to try to overcome myself and not the others.
8. Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?
My motto in life is that hard work pays off and dreams come true! You should always give your best and the results will be great.
9. Do you have some special ritual before competition?
No, not really. I follow my coach’s advice and I’m very focused on the competition.
10. Anything else you’d like to share?
I believe that I have proved to everyone and specially to myself that dreams come true.. so I would be very pleased if I motivated anyone to try harder and believe in themselves! I’d like to thank first God for giving me health and strength to do what I love, my family, my friends, my teammates, my duo couple (Nagia Latsinou) and specially I want to thank one more person. My coach, Giannis Ballas. I owe him the biggest part of my success! The cooperation between us was the key to our accomplishment because he always gives me the right instructions and when I follow them I definitely win. I want to say that everyone shouldn’t forget first of all to enjoy the training and have a good time! And keep in mind that you can always improve yourself.
