The workaround is to be taught it "in game" instead of in the battlefields; you've wasted your cash, which is obnoxious. A guard in the citadel training field will teach it to you for dirt cheap; go talk to him, and you can be sharpening yourself some killer weapons.
In the mean time, pickpocket your would-be teacher and get at least something back for your troubles... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin1.gif" alt="" />
