If anything, I learned something. If I tell a student how they should go about things and they do not want to heed my warnings, I will not continue to help them. It may be OK for them to destroy thier airplane but I will not be involved in it as I am not involved in this hobby\sport to destroy aircraft. This is coming from a combat flier as well.
I flew my trainer for 2 years before I lost it. This while learning aerobatic manuevers. I just remember that the thing that worried me the most was crashing my plane and always listened to my instructer.
Also not to detract from anyones hobby experience, but if all you have done is flown ARF's then your experience has been diminished to some degree. It is just more satisfying to fly an aircraft that you have fully constructed.