They also used to quickly teach people to swim by chucking them in deep water and only pulling them out if they ended up on the bottom!
But the point I am really making is that a student can train on a much more complex aircraft than we may think.
Less power doesn't mean better safety.Infact less power means a greater chance of a stall / spin through high drag low power.
A good instructor can teach on a complex from the word go.
It doesn't have to be a low powered fixed gear fixed prop aircraft.
Pace