I refer the honourable readers to the reply I made a few days ago.
I stated that it was incumbent upon a professional pilot to keep all his skills up to date. Handflying is an important skill, and I have never heard anyone say "Don't worry - always let the automatics do it". Anyone who did would be an idiot, IMHO. Conversely, anyone who only hand flies is a fool, and I have seen quite a few pilots who could not or would not keep their skills on the automatics (FMCS settings etc.) up to date, and had no idea how to make their life easier when the workload was high.
However, as far as practising handflying, there is a time and a place to do this. Going into a busy TMA is, quite simply, not it. My personal opinion is that anyone who does so is eroding the borders of safety. Anyone who does so without consulting his colleague on the flight deck is rude and inconsiderate, risks further stress upon the other member of the flight deck crew, risks good working relationships and therefore further erodes safety.