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Ok, now my dojo mates have shed a little more light on the Oroshi, Gaeshi thing I posted in "I just found out". It turns out that with reference to the Japanese language they mean exactly the same thing. However, to satisfy the need for us North Americans to verbally differentiate the physical differences in the techniques, these are the Japanese terms we use. So in this case I really wasn't incorrect in using those terms.
Testing was briefly brought up tonight and even though it might feel nice to have that next rank under my belt (excuse the pun), and put behind me, I am not feeling like I am ready. I don't want a kyu rank that doesn't match my abilities. Also, I don't want to obtain my next rank and, due to my changed work situation, not be able to train as much as I have been. (Which isn't enough now). I am referring to the change from night shift to the afternoon shift at work that will take place in a couple of weeks. Once I start working the afternoon shift the only time I will be able to train is Wednesday's and every second Saturday.
I think the reduced mat time will not only cause me to slow my refinement of the techniques, it will take Sensei a longer time for him to impart these subtle refinements. Even though I will not stop trying to refine my technique, I think I will have to shift my focus more to the conditioning aspect of training in order for me to feel like I'm getting the most out of my training. This is not to say that I haven't been getting enough out of training, this is more a change in mindset for me so I won't feel I have reached a plateau that I can't get past due to my lack of mat time. If I feel I'm getting physically fitter despite not improving in my technique I will feel like gains are still being made. After all, the desire to improve my health was the reason I took up the martial arts again. I don't want to lose sight of that.