You don't have to do both level 1 and virgin but it does save time.
I try to max all my stats however that is not the point. The point is to prioritize stats. It depends what you want to do. If you want easy battles you can do agility, and strength, with a moderate focus in endurance. You can then spend more time watching where you go if needed which will result in more food being used. Or you could dump everything into magic and run a glass cannon. I min/maxed the game so much before so that NOW I can enjoy the game by playing how I want. Either playing specific roles and whatnot.
For combat, you can safely invest into spring attack and crushing blow to get a grasp of the basics. What it does is sort of a midrange between solid damage and minor buffs.
Later you can practice with footing advantages, like knocking them down to get bonuses, or destroying their armor.
Bleeding is incredibly useful for certain builds and even attacking certain areas. It is fun how many factors can be taken into account once you get the hang of it since there are so many ways to enjoy the game, but if I were to start over again, I would just focus on the stances people have (Such as being on the ground, kneeling, standing up to get back into fights), and making sure to block if there are times when they build up to big attacks.