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I was asked to post this here. Even if the (more complicated) latter idea were never implemented, the part on defenses might (imho) fix what's broken about p/d/sb practice.
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My proposal assumes two (general) things about what the imm staff wants to achieve:
1) "Excessive" practicing should not be necessary in order for a character to be successful in combat.
2) Some things should always require "extra" practice to perfect, i.e. beyond "normal activity".
Note on (1): if spam practice is beneficial and everybody else is doing it then you're at a competitive disadvantage if you don't. That's not to say you can't still be successful, but it will require to you excel in some other aspect of combat (player skill, etc.)
My solution has two parts. One for defenses and one for other skills.
Defenses:
For the sake of argument make this apply to all defensive skills. Parry, dodge, shield block, wilderness familiarity, spin, distance, flourintine, unarmed defense, ironhands, and whatever shield paladins get.
a. Raise the mob difficulty required in order to learn defenses to "perfect match" and above.
b. Code things so tougher mobs increase the odds of skill improvement.
c. Increase the likelihood (compared to the current level) that each defensive skill will improve each time it gets checked.
d. Increase the learning rate for certain non-tank classes. Transmuters come to mind, plus others.
e. Leave the learning rate at its current (low) level for PC vs. PC fights.
Under this system it would be impossible to hang out at 15 with a gaggle of "easy kill" mobs and perfect defenses. However, it would be easier to learn them from "normal activity" (ranking, gearing, etc.).
Non-defensive skills:
Divide these into three categories: combat skills that can be used to start combat, combat skills that can't be used to start combat, and non-combat skills.
a. Combat starting skills:
Make it so these can't be learned on less than "perfect match" mobs. This prevents people from repeatedly blasting tiny mobs. Possibly increase the learning rate (from its current level) for mobs "perfect match" and above.
b. Non-combat-starting skills:
Allow improvement on any level of mob. Wimpy ones will die before murder lag wears off.
c. Non-combat skills:
Not sure what to do here. Make them too easy and they can be botted too easily. Make them hard and it takes forever. See idea below:
Possible extra idea for all skills/spells:
Tie learning rate to "amount of XP gained in the last N units time". Basically, you'll learn more while ranking. For the purposes of computing this XP value, grant characters the amount of XP they'd get from killing particular mobs solo. This would even the learning rate between the group of three killing mobs for 300xp a pop and the solo guy killing them for 100xp a pop.
HOWEVER - have the extent to which "XP gained in the last N units time" affects learning rate *diminish* as the character increases in rank. Imagine a skill is useless for ranking (e.g. trip). Since learning rates are boosted during ranking, characters with this non-ranking skill get shafted (assuming they always do what's most beneficial for their group). They'll have to practice it on their own time and receive no benefit from the ranking-learning-boost, meaning it will take them significantly longer. Once they reach a certain rank, though, give them the "ranking boost" all the time (for that skill). This rank might vary per skill. Or it could be handled in a gradual way. So a character that decides he'd rather use his time ranking (and practicing "useful" combat skills while ranking) would have an easier time mastering bash/trip/etc. once he eventually decides to devote some time to it. 
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