I grew up propping, as nothing I was flying as a kid had a starter.

I prefer to put one leg through the prop arc and as I swing, swing the leg back. The momentum of the leg places me away from the propeller. It's an old practice, but it works.

There were numerous starter methods for old airplanes, including crank starters and inertial starters, and in some cases yes, one did pull the prop backward just slightly to release it before letting it go. In that case, the engine had already been pre-wound with a hand crank.

I've also flown radial engines in which the engine was started by first running the inertial to max, then engaging that to the the engine. If it caught fire, there was no starter to keep turning the engine once the intertial ran out.

Rotary engines involved the prop fixed to the case and the entire engine turning, with the airplane attached to the crank shaft. A lot of torque. Most, as mentioned above, utilized "blipping" to land in which the ignition was cut repeatedly to reduce power. You were either at power, or not. A low-energy go-around, low speed, with full power, put a lot of torque against a small rudder, and could be a problem.