I know it is not the normal way, but learning the tools and techniques on plain cheap woods has some merit -- when you get to the good wood, your probability of making a huge screwup that cannot be recovered go way down. Do not under rate the value of practice on a chunk of construction lumber or cutoffs from beams or the like.
Firewood piles are great starting points for learning, and glued up bowl blanks provide lots of cheap practice -- and many will provide learnings in turning but also in sanding, finishing, polishing, and other tricks and tools of the trade.