Ah, those were the days! My ex-CFS instructor said if I could fly NDB approaches and holds I could fly any procedure. I used to practise under the screens dozens of times (with a safety pilot) using the local radio station which was six miles away. Eventually I could fly a few holds, descend in our own procedure and 'break cloud' at 250ft in a position to make the main runway. After that the IR with its 500-600ft DHs was easy. Aerobatics were taught for similar reasons, I was taught to recover from unusual attitudes (IMC or visual) and even more important, not to get into them in the first place.
I'm sorry to see that these old-fashioned skills are no longer being taught, though with today's congested airspace and eye-watering costs it's no wonder. They would have avoided the two stall-spin fatal accidents in our local area within the past five years but weather-related accidents still seem to top the listings.