My personal belief is that playing up in tournaments and getting your arse handed to you is not really much of a learning experience- particularly when playing up to REC or INT. Playing practice rounds with better players will indeed help you though. Tournament play is where you find out how much you have actually learned. There is also something to be said for experiencing the pressure of playing in the lead group regardless of division.
The only person handing out ass at an event is yourself. This is disc golf, not hockey.
Play int, grind it out, keep your head up.