Mollie Estes is on a mission to make life safer for Springfield families.
A mom of two—her daughter, Logan, is 8 and son, Raylan, is 6—Estes wanted her children to grow up to be independent, confident and aware, but not afraid of dangers that they might encounter.
For years, her boutique gym F8 Training & Wellness Studio has offered popular self-defense classes for women, but when moms started asking her for a kid-appropriate version of their signature Foundation Situational Self-Defense Course for women, she turned to her self-defense instructor Joey Johns to create a program that mixed in some fun to make it feel less intense. “With a background in elementary education and as a personal trainer & instructor, Joey was the perfect person to put together a curriculum for 7- to 11-year-olds — that perfect age for talking about stranger danger, red flags and tricky situations,” Estes says.
Last August, they launched Kids Safety Course as four 90-minute sessions that combine classroom lectures — which also address topics including cybersecurity, safety at home and while traveling — and practical self-defense skills, using a variety of styles including mixed martial arts and law enforcement evasive skills. “We train kids to get out and get away. There are some cool tactics we pull from the different martial arts,” she says.
Both parents and children participate. “We play a lot of ‘What If’ and roleplaying games,” she says. Parents and participating police officers, play good and bad guys. For example, playing the bad guy, Instructor Joey might approach the children and try to entice them to come to her car to see puppies. In this scenario, children learn how to observe what the strange adult looked and dressed like so they can accurately report the occurrence to their parents. “It’s a game and we laugh about it, but we know that they will be a lot more aware and in a real life situation that training will kick in,” she says.
For the fourth class, children don pads and enter a padded room where they encounter an equally padded “Red Man,” played by one of the police officers, who simulates an attack. “The Red Man grabs the child with full force and the child has to use full force against him,” Estes says. “Although the situations are safe, the child gets to feel what it is like to try to get away from somebody when they’re fully grabbing you and the strength that it takes to get away.”
Estes’ daughter participated in the first Kids Safety Course. “Now, when I say, ‘Watch for red flags,’ she knows what I mean: Be alert. Look for things that are out of place,” Estes says.
Kids Safety Course is just one of the many reasons Estes enjoys owning F8. A former Cox Health group exercise manager for 11 years, Cox Health instructors began working at F8 Training and Situational Self Defense while the Meyer Center (main hospital gym) was closed during the pandemic. In January 2022, with F8 at risk of closing, her instructor friends urged her to consider managing it. She fell in love with the intimacy of the small gym and helped to bring in group exercise classes and did personal training. Soon, she was managing the gym and when the opportunity to buy it arose, she jumped.
Although the name — F8 (fate) — was not hers, she embraced it. Along with her team of trainers they developed a mission statement: “It’s never too late to control your fate.” “We were not like other gyms that were just about getting fit, hard bodies. We were more like ‘Hey, let’s be healthy and move,” she says.
In addition to personal training and situational self-defense, throughout the month the gym offers holistic and wellness sessions such as yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi and sound baths. “If you work hard and play hard, you also need to recover. We always say self-care isn’t selfish. If you can’t take care of yourself, then how are you going to take care of those around you?” she says.
F8 also has a wellness room that offers services including Botox and fillers, an infrared sauna and foot detox bath. “It’s a nice boutique studio space where women and men both can feel like they’re working toward health, not punishing themselves at the gym,” she says.
It is important to Estes to give back to the community that supports her. She helped found the organization, Wellness for Warriors in 2016 and serves on the board and sponsors the Joggin’ for Noggins 5k. F8 Training actively engages with the community, partnering with the Springfield Dream Center and participating in the CASA gala. They offer free Parkinson's Therapy Exercise classes in collaboration with Parkinson's Group of the Ozarks. Additionally, they conduct safety events at local universities and provide self-defense training to organizations..
Estes, After Hours
“We have a zoo at my house,” Estes says. There’s Rosie, the three-year-old mini Australian Shepherd and Willow the cat. “I’ve never really been a cat person, but we have mice from the big field next to us. Someone was moving and giving her away—and she was a mouser! I have fallen in love with Willow.” Rounding out the menagerie is Peter Rabbit, a big, brown domestic rabbit her neighbors found in their garden — “He thinks he’s a dog. He’s litter box trained,” she notes — chickens and Frank Sinatra the rooster.
The Estes family enjoys taking Rosie to Sequiota Park and the Greenways Trails as well as to one of the many dog-friendly restaurants in the area, especially Big Whiskey’s. “She loves to just lay out there and watch everybody on the patio on a Sunday afternoon,” she says.
Estes has lived here since 2000, after moving from Golden, Colorado, to attend Missouri State University (when it was Southwest Missouri State University), enticed by the beauty of the area from visits to her older sister who lived in Branson. She started doing personal training during her freshman year and continued at local gyms before landing the job at Cox Health.
“The rich, vibrant community is what has kept me here,” she says. “I love Springfield because it is so small-business minded and there’s just these little hidden gems everywhere. The people are kind, there’s always a great restaurant and something going on.”
The next Kids Safety Camp is August 6, 8, 13 and 15. Learn more at F8Training.com.
Be A Bad Target
Be aware of surroundings.
Look alert with eyes up, not down at phone.
Don’t sit in car on phone with window down and door unlocked.
Walk with confidence.
Know where you're going: Check map before you leave so you don’t have to check phone.
Locate exits.