question for clutch drivers (sarge?)

[kingo'mountain]

learning here, watched a few good youtube videos already, and i have been with a licensed driving teacher twice already (he teaches other teachers too), problem is i started driving with the "no gas" method which means that i have to depress the clutch slowly all the way until it starts movin and then apply the gas....

on the videos, people pressed the gas WHILE depressing the clutch (talking about starts only), so actually i have 4 questions:

1.) can the simultaneous method prove a smoother start and less chance to stall?

2.) can i release the clutch quickly right after the friction point and not go all the way?

3.) i have also seen on the videos that while moving already some people press the clutch, shift, and quickly depress it, is it bad for the clutch\transmission?

4a.) also, in city areas do you drive a certain gear or change gears when the engine starts over-reving?

4b.) on traffic lights, do you keep it in 2-3? or go back to neutral - 1 and start over?

i'm asking all this because the teacher really made it a project just to shift gear, although i'm a fast learner, its just too much actions for me, it causes me to lose the pedal locations because i have to shift too, you know... "pat your head, rub your tummy" syndrome