Marlene Hurst

Marlene Hurst

She/Her

Capital Kunst des Fechtens, Arlington, VA

Marlene Hurst began her HEMA practice in 2016 with Capital Kunst des Fechtens (CKDF). She trains and competes in longsword and ringen (medieval wrestling). She loves the physicality of ringen and how it allows her to focus on what her body is doing and how it moves.

Marlene’s background before coming to martial arts was in dance. She has trained in the Cecchetti Method of Ballet and Irish Step Dancing, and has dabbled in many other styles.

She takes parallel approaches to dance and swordplay interpretation. Digging into a source or technique lets her see it from a new angle every time, just like practicing a dance leads to new discoveries.

Marlene is Committee Chair of the CKDF Council and is an instructor for longsword and ringen. She has been a guest instructor at multiple HEMA events, and is a decorated competitor in longsword, ringen, and paired technique. Marlene is also a respected HEMA judge and one of only a handful of women to referee ringen at a major event.

At Dance Fight, she probably won’t be throwing anyone around, but she will help you discover the joy of movement in all its forms.

Marlene’s Class

Body Fluency Through Movement

Saturday, September 24th

Learn how your muscles interact and build physical literacy through exploratory movement. With Marlene’s help, you’ll get a better sense of what your body is actually doing to make an action happen. She’ll also give you new language for talking about movement and asking for help. You’ll walk out of this class better-equipped to get the most out of your training—whether it’s solo practice or your next Dance Fight class.