Classic touch typists are at increased risk for RSI. I'm fairly convinced of that fact. Even though I don't know if there's real research to back it up -- I'd rather not take the risk. For that reason alone, I do not wish to learn.
I never took a typing class, and I don't strictly touch-type according to the book (I might look down every six words or so), yet I still get about 55wpm. It's not 120, but then I don't have to wear wrist braces -- and I'm not in a race.
"Classic touch typists are at increased risk for RSI."
Link? A quick Google search only produced claims that touch typing reduces RSI, though I wouldn't at all be surprised that the evidence for those too would be the classic "proof by common sense".
I could believe that claim if by "classic touch typist" we meant "people who learned to type on a manual typewriter and as a result hammer the keys to within an inch of their life" (known to cause stiffness in finger joints, for example), but I doubt that's what OP was referring to.
I never took a typing class, and I don't strictly touch-type according to the book (I might look down every six words or so), yet I still get about 55wpm. It's not 120, but then I don't have to wear wrist braces -- and I'm not in a race.