IMO, the guide is good but you can't always go by the guide, at least for a selfbow. Every piece of wood has it's own personality traits which are dictated by density, grain structure, knots, and how the tree spent it's life in general. So you really have to learn to read the wood, while it's a tree (if possible), when it's cut, after it's dried and as you work it. Selfbows are truly an art form that only time and practice can perfect.
I am still a novice in many respects but from everything I read and have experienced; to a degree you only have to worry about the tips of the limbs, are they traveling the same distance at the same time. That said, you still have to watch the limbs for the standard catastrophe warnings such as hinges and the like.