Emacs is a great platform, but the default key mappings make it an RSI machine.

If I recommend Emacs to anybody today, the first thing I would tell them is to:

- enable evil mode and prefer its interface to vanilla Emacs

- install doom-emacs and learn to love the leader key instead of the C-[...] combinations

And of course what you said about moving your whole hand and using both hands still applies, including when you need to use the shift key.

I started to develop RSI once in 2015 and got my act together after that scare with an ergonomic setup and better practices. It's been smooth sailing since, always as an Emacs user.