When represented in combat sports, the Cayman Islands commonly participates in karate, taekwondo and boxing, but Annita ‘Annie’ Hawkins is the exception, having recently made her debut in Muay Thai.
Hawkins, who has been training in martial arts since she was 9 and now attends the University of Kent in England, stepped into the cage for her first competitive fight in the discipline against Lyra Cookson and won via unanimous decision.
She told the Compass it was a surreal experience from start to finish, noting that she has watched fights on TV for most of her life.
“For the past 10 years, I’ve watched UFC fights with my family in our living room and never thought being in a cage would be something I’d do,” Hawkins said. “When we got to the location, my team and I walked around in the cage for me to work off the nerves, do some shadow boxing and just go over some pointers.
“I think all the nervousness reached its peak for me the day before the fight. Once I started warming up in the back, hitting pads and throwing kicks is when the confidence really kicked in,” she said.
But when she faced her opponent, she said “my nervousness was the least of my concern” and she focused on not getting “knocked out”.
Her fears disappeared after the final bell and she was overcome by a feeling of accomplishment, especially when she was declared the winner.
What made her performance even more impressive was that the tough and gutsy Caymanian agreed to fight without a training camp. Hawkins admitted that the victory came down to her willingness to fight through adversity.
“I did it for the experience and to push myself outside of my comfort zone,” she said.
When asked if she would pursue a professional career in martial arts, Hawkins said, “As of right now I’d say no, but wouldn’t completely dismiss it,” noting that it is a hobby at the moment which she is using to sharpen her skills as much as possible.
Her skill in combat sports has been developing since she was a kid training at the Purple Dragon, where she learned karate for three years, before taking up kickboxing and Muay Thai at the Performance Lab for several years.
She left home for university in 2022 where she enrolled in her school’s mixed martial arts society, where she serves as the women’s captain. It was there that she began practising Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for the first time.
‘Get out of your comfort zones’
Hawkins went on to encourage Caymanian women to learn combat techniques, not with the intent to pursue a career but for self-defence.
“I believe self-defence is crucial and getting involved in martial arts has an enormous rippling effect, from boosting your confidence, increasing your discipline, and realising that we’re often capable of so much more than we can imagine,” she said.
“I’d like to encourage young Caymanians to get out of their comfort zones, to continue to pursue sports and academics or anything that their future self will thank them for.”
Hawkins said she is currently finishing her last term of her bachelor’s degree so competing in more fights isn’t on the table for the immediate future but believes that further out, there are many possibilities.
“I intend on being in England for a few more years as I pursue my education and Lord’s willing, I’ll have the opportunity to compete in several more fights and represent my country.”
Related Videos
