I've had to use the ebrake method before for a hill that was wayyyy too steep and a fence gate closed behind me.

You basically just let off the clutch and press on the gas until the car wants to move forward, then you let off the e brake and go without going backwards.

If you're on a steep hill, yes sometimes you need to use the handbrake to get moving. This had to be demonstrated when I got my licence, but to be fair some manual vehicles now have automatic hill start. Still a good technique to learn because it doesn't always activate.