Kung Fu Pirate Action Update

Why argue over which is better, Ninjas or Pirates (and yes, that is a debate raging in the internet!)? Now you can have both!

Not wanting to let One Ring's offer to support one of my weird interests, I decided to go kwoon (kung fu school - in Japanese, it's dojo) shopping. I fired off three or four emails, and have been trying to contact a pa kua (also spelled ba gua) instructor in northwest Nashville. No luck there. Of course, no one has responded yet (of all the nerve!). Most schools seem to only have evening hours, which is fine; I have a sneaking suspicion that instructors are late morning types!

While I was typing and calling, though, I tried to come up with a mental list of all the martial arts I've studied over the years, also thinking of my black belt curse (I've either moved or had the school close or had something else happen before I could make it that far). Here's what I've come up with so far:

Blue Belt in Tang Soo Do at the Chuck Norris Karate Studio (Yes, I'm ashamed to admit that one!)
Blue Belt in Shaolin Kempo (I left when they changed the program to "Ki-Lin Kung Fu" a system that no one has ever heard of, before or since. By the way, a Ki-Lin is a type of Chinese Unicorn. Go fig.)
6 months or so of Kendo (Japanese fencing. Lots of fun, but the school closed, sadly)
Less than one semester of Akido (knee problems sidelined me)
Brown Sash (okay, I was testing for the brown sash - but it was a done deal) in Shaolin kung fu at the Chuntien Academy in Suffolk, Virginia. (School closed)
6 months or so of Pa Kua in Virginia Beach (Dang church I was working at wouldn't change their meeting times to accomodate my class needs!)
Western Fencing at the Isle of Wight Fencing Club
Blue Belt in Tae Kwon Do (I became terminally bored when I had to relearn everything I already knew from my kung fu days - plus the forms were very short and equally boring).
More Western Fencing at the IWFC.

And still no black belt. Meanwhile a friend of mine in Virginia (Whom I really need to call), received his black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is working on another one in Hapkido. Neither style is my cup of tea, but I'm happy for him just the same. Still, getting to that level is one of my life goals, though a minor one.

Okay, back to pretending to work and getting some lunch. Peace out.