Ringcraft is about teaching a dog to stand and be gone over by a judge and to walk up and down on the mat and also in triangles etc....it is good for socialisation but is for the people that show...
I have no structure to my training - every day is different and as long as my dogs know the basic commands we pretty much do a bit of everything each day - make it fun and the dogs will do anything for you. I do some basics in the garden and also while out - most of the time I take them to the same place but thats b'cos I dont drive and when hubby is at work I walk to the local park - well its a nature reserve surrounded by fields with a huge lake in the middle.....they do get to have a paddle or sometimes have a swim - but depends what time of day we are there......
My dogs can take a minute or 2 to sit when told - they are not robots and as long as they sit I am happy with that - whats a minute or 2???
I dont use stay - but whatever word you prefer as long as you stick by it is ok - I do use wait and steady
I have always started the on lead training first but thats just how I am with mine - they have to be good on a lead etc.....once they get the hang of that they then get to go off lead ....usually within a few weeks of training
Whatever works for you is best - whatever you feel is working and you are confident with - I dont think there are set rules to training as long as your dogs respond - you are doing it right IMO

I train Katie everyday either in the garden or when we're out on a walk. It's an ongoing process. I use the wait command for road endings, recalls, retrieves, only if there is a command for her to move afterwards. Stay is used if I want her to stay, sit stay, down stay etc (I find stay useful for when people come round that are a little nervous of dogs as she can be put in a down stay and she'll stay there until I go back to her and she knows that the stay has finished), theres no hard and fast rules to training and no one way is best. I always make sure that I am confident that the dog will obey my commands totally before they're off the lead, so recalls and heelwork.