Greetings Britton,
There is a lot to be said on this subject, but I'll leave you with these two articles:
This one is pretty important, I think. Even though it gives no advise on the physical aspects of practice, it is nonetheless very important.
http://www.thearma.org/essays/core_assumptions.html
This one is a bit dated, but still of value.
http://www.thehaca.com/Practice/training.htm
Other than that, I would recommend reading a lot of the articles and essays on this site, watching the videos, maintaining a good physical regimen, and always keeping the reality of this art in mind.
Also, I believe it was Joseph Swetnam who suggested these three ways of practicing. Fight against another person, against an pell, and against a shadow.
Respectively: Spar, Pell, Florysh.
