very important...

i remember the first time i stopped on a very steep hill, slipped the clutch @ 6000, my bad.

but just keep practicing and within a couple weeks in should be very easy, when shifting into another gear, apply a bit of gas to ease the transition.
you should get very familiar with rpm matching or what mph to shift at so you know when to downshift or whatever. you will alaso realize that keeping the car in gear will shorten the braking distance, because you are also using the lag of the engione to slow you down, as long as you are in the right gear.
thus using less of your brake pads.