I have no intention of riling up anyone, but as a learning trader it is good that we discuss facts with one another. The first truth is that there is no spare money anywhere in the world; every money are valuable. To improve your trading psychology, you must practice your trade strategies on a live trade; even if you start out with 10$; you need to feel the heat, be under pressure.
That is right and unless there is the pressure of losing money in trading, the decisions will be either careless or reckless which both might lead to big profits and also loss, and create an illusion for the trader that he has learned all the skills and is ready to roll now. Real trading happens when you have the pressure of not losing the money and hence take minimal risks.
Taking risks almost anyone can make money or lose money, more like gambling. The real skill develops when we are feeling the heat like you said and make a profit without taking much risk, if at all.
But all that been said, for some people it is worth learning basics with smaller capital. I mean take the capital seriously and trade like this is all you got, but trading will never be successful in first time so keep bigger capital for later once you have learned some basic skills.