Practice is the only way to get better. But one way to make practice more worth while is to try new things. Experiment as much as possible with how the Toris work. It is tough to figure out and some people end up better than others, but if you stick with it you will no doubt have fun.
And no, like iamrubbish said, items do not affect your tori's power. In thw wii version they have something set up, like a boost, but it is based on timing. There laos used to be a thing called the Demon Left foot...but this is a legend. :P