Knifework is really all about practice.
Yeah, there's technique involved, but you can observe that by watching any good chef on Food Network--Mario Batali, Rachael Ray, and Sara Moulton are all chefs whose knifework helpful.
Just make sure you have good, sharp knives that rest comfortably in your hand. If a knife isn't sharp or doesn't fit right, it becomes dangerous. Precision and speed are things you will get to over time. I worked as a prep cook for several months, so I'm probably faster at slicing vegetables than a lot of people (for instance, I slice a cucumber WAY faster than Rachael Ray EVER does) but I got that speed through work. Don't expect to have good knifework overnight--my knifework still has a long way to go
