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I think it is the case that the longer you train the more you realise how much more training you have to do. However, just the length of time training has meant that I've had chance to train with many different instructors. Also it is possible to see some general trends in the way techniques have changed (for example it seems that nikkyo, sankyo and yonkyo at many dojos are always taught from an initial ikkyo, whereas I remember many years ago it was far more direct and less fiddley).
Just the breadth of experience gives you more opportunity to critically evaluate new styles/techniques. Yes, it would be good to have developed the techniques you do now just by short periods of time with just the right instructors. However you wouldn't know how it compared with other instructors.
There are people who have trained for much less time than me and who are far better than me (in my mind at least), but I know why they are better, and I would have less danger of developing habits I now consider bad.
In addition, sometimes we are just not ready to learn the next stage, and we have to go through the initial stages to prepare ourself.
Ian
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