I think I would do great with Nikko's hair... if the little maniac would stay still long enough for me to get the scissors on him.
I got a cheap pet grooming set of clippers just as a test to see if he would let me clip him. It took me a half hour and about 4 cookies cut up in tiny pieces to clip 1 piece of hair.
Just have lots of patience, plenty of treats and realistic expectations. You may make mistakes but I am sure with practice you should be fine. I think most professional dog clippers come with a DVD so you can start there.