As someone who developed before the internet, and was not involved in any kind of in-person scene until long after I was settled into myself AND I don’t do public play…
I just sort of did what turned me on as I went along and had enough common sense to not maim or kill anyone. I learned some more edge things that I was interested in from experienced masochists I partnered with.
I’m a sexual sadist and my interests and skills lie along the narrow path of that.
Today we have the Interwebs and all the information in the world at our fingertips. The challenge with that is what do we trust? It takes some skill to gather different sources and sort out what is valid and what is fallacy. Far too many people also consider pornography as a source of truth. It definitely couldn’t be further from that.
There’s some folks in kink who believe that any top cannot be proficient unless they bottom. My own personal opinion on that is that’s bullshit. I will check a new implement on myself so I know what the pressure to pain thresholds are, but I don’t need to bottom or submit to be a good top/dominant.
I go to in-person classes even thought I’ve done pretty much all I want to. Refreshers, and different perspectives are always good. No one is ever above education.