Gee Wyle & Harley,
I am reminded why insurance costs what it does! (Insurance companies are paying out claims from junior pilots who follow your advice!) I'm not suggesting that the techiniques you suggest are not possible, but it sure seems like a bad idea to me to promote them, particularly to an audience who might go and try it!
Oh, and that experienced instructor? Will teach the student to use good judgement to AVOID situations requiring the super skills he/she teaches!
@v8ter, concentrate on what the Cessna 172 flight manual, and your ground school teachings tell you about tailwind landings. For those very few runways on earth, with approaches so restrictive that a down wind landing is required for a 172 - avoid them! As for those pilots who are TOO LAZY to fly to the other end of the runway and land into the wind: A) ignore them, and B) watch out for them when you're landing into the wind! (they may be using the same runway at the same time! It DID happen to me! - Spinner to spinner with the downwind landing guy, who was not listening to my radio calls in the circuit)
Pilot DAR