Come on guys ! Look at the majority of the members here: don't we all try to do things for ourselves? From making our own splices and port-a-wraps, to fixing our equipment, isn't that part of why we come here?
It was a fair question, and gets asked all the time. The guy clearly states that he wants to acquire a skill, not just get the job done. What's wrong with that? Unless I am mistaken, most of the climbers in this forum have learned the hard way, rather than by "being taught".
Why does everybody always try to tell people to stay out of the trees ? Are we that afraid of more competition? Just tell 'em that they are likely to get hurt/dead, relate a few good examples, and then pass out some good advice. Like this:
husky455rancher, you asked in your first post for "what is necessary to do the job safley?" For "problem limbs" some of which are "nasty": a couple hundred feet of climbing rope, a climbing saddle, a good handsaw (old-school method, you may wish to use a chainsaw), and years of experience are needed.
You should be aware that almost all the people with experience know someone in the business who has been critically injured or killed. Myself, I have buried one climber (12 years of experience), another that used to work for me lost his spleen and has had several operations to fix what happened to him. He had at least ten years experience when he was injured, but he was working for someone else at the time. I loaned one of my saws to another tree service, it came back completely crushed by the fall to the sidewalk. The guy running it at the time came down at the same time as the saw when the top of the tree broke off. He applied for work at my business 6 months later, with a medical restriction to lift nothing heavier than 50 lbs. So he could no longer earn the only living he knew. If you climb a tree, you need to be willing to accept this kind of risk, and that risk is much greater when you are starting to learn the trade.
The equipment is the cheap stuff and is readily available online. The experience cannot be bought, on-line or otherwise, and is a commodity that is best hired. That is why anyone who asks questions about how to do tree work themselves gets picked on in this forum. Those that suggest hiring it done may be doing you a big favor.
Get a good pole saw for the easy stuff (already suggested), and hire an expert to do the nasty stuff. It will save you some money and you can watch the expert doing the nasty stuff. Do more when you have learned more.
If you really want experience, follow your local tree service around for a while, and you will probably get some good ideas. Get some books, and spend a lot of time learning. It's not rocket science, but it is dangerous.