Al, I hear ya.
I can't speak for Mr. Gremel, and his style of teaching, but I understand where you're coming from.
I have horses, and I wanted to learn Natural Horsemanship. There are two famous "Clinicians" who sell training programs: Pat Parelli, and Clinton Anderson. (There are more, but I will just briefly discuss these two.)
Pat Parelli drives me crazy. He's obviously a gifted horseman, but his shows, TV, etc show you what he can do with a trained horse. His style is to show you all the marvelious things he can do with a horse, and you can too, if you buy his program.
Clinton Anderson is different. His shows use untrained stock, and he trains them before your very eyes. He shows you what he would do to train, and just does it. I've seen him live, at clinics, and own his DVDs. He does bring along a finished horse, and gives a demo ride to show what the final results should produce.
I obviously prefer Anderson. Others prefer Parelli. Maybe it's a left brained/right brained thing.
For bonsai, I think one of the things the kids are learning by being apprentices is they are surrounded by the best bonsai in the world. They work on great material, and learn how to make it even better.
Peter Tea sent me a blog the other day, and it discussed a black pine and how it was re-styled. Peter did a great job photographing it from all angles, and one of the major improvements was to the apex. To make the trunk look larger the apex was "lowered". Ok... so they chopped the top, right? Uh, no. They lowered the apex by pulling it down in front. Foreshortening it. You really can't tell when looking at the photo from the front. But when you look at a side photo, why that tree is almost falling out of the pot leaning forward! It's a "trick of the eye"! You woud never be able to pick that up by looking at the tree from the front.
Anyway, Peter showed us "how it's done". Just think how it would be possible to pick up on techniques like that if you lived, breathed, ate bonsai 24/7 like they do?
Anyway, that little tip got me out in the garden today, and I messed around with a JWP that I've been unhappy with the apex. And I found that if I just moved the apex straight forward towards the front, it lowered it, rounded it, and made it better. I bet those guys get an "Ah ha!" moment like that every day!
Can they teach it? Time will tell. Some may become bonsai Parellis. Others more like Anderson. Good thing is we will have new talents to choose from.
I personally am very grateful for what they do, and I enjoy their blogs. And I wish them every success.