The draw backs to these clubs could be the nominal membership fees and location. Many of these sites are sellers' home pages but these pages also include information on the art of miniaturizing trees. Another place to consider learning about bonsai is auction sites like eBay where a keyword search will bring up hundreds of items and will give you the idea of what kind of trees are used and are available. You can also buy some trees and supplies from these sites at good prices. But as always, buyer beware.
Nothing teaches like the act of doing.
Then, see what happens. The worst you can do is kill the tree, a tree that can easily be replaced, and by failing you'll learn what not to do next time. So get to it. Inc. PageWise makes no representations about the content published on this site. PageWise hereby disclaims all warranties and conditions with regard to this information, and user agrees that all such use is at its own risk.