“Meotode” (夫婦手), an uchinaaguchi (the native Okinawan language) principle literally meaning “husband and wife hands”. In the case of an actual fight both hands should always be used together, which is essential in close-quarter pragmatic karate. It is a way of maximizing strategical advantage in a physical altercation by utilizing both arms and hands equally, in continuously attacking and receiving.
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In the karate of the old masters’, the main focus was unarmed combat, and in such combat you should use all tools at your disposal to accomplish your goals as quickly and efficiently as possible. The use of ‘hikite’ (pulling hand), as seen in many fundamental kata techniques springs to mind. Hikite can be used in pulling the attackers’ limb(s), hair, clothing, etc, to disrupt and off-balance an opponent.
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However, hikite is only one component of meotode. The use of the hands together, or indeed the whole body, is a vital principle of traditional, classical karate, and especially so when used within the context of self-protection.
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Choki Motobu, one of Okinawa’s greatest fighters of the time, also incorporated a further principle of ‘kobo ittai’ (攻防一体 – attack and defense are one), receiving and attacking with one hand, in one motion, in one moment….. “The receiving hand must be able to become the attacking hand in an instant. Receiving with one hand and then countering with the other is not true bujutsu. Real bujutsu presses forward and receives and counters in the same motion.” – Choki Motobu
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I think one of the biggest mistakes some practitioners make when it comes to physical self-protection, is approaching it with the expectation of something comparable to dojo sparing or consensual fighting. The bottom-line is, in self-protection, self-defense, it’s nothing like a consensual fight. We do NOT want an attacker to get their turn. There is no room to stand in a fighting stance with your hands held high, waiting….. to fight.
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In the context of self-protection, practice that see arms and legs used separately from one another is not only inefficient, but also completely nonsensical with respect to how the human body is actually designed to operate as an integrated whole. As a core principle, every classical kata should have the principle of meotode incorporated within its movements, and we should never see body parts moving in complete isolation.
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The most important thing to remember is that meotode is found literally everywhere within classical karate, and is expressed in many different ways within the kata. Why?….. Simply because it is necessary for effective application! 
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“Do not think of attack and defense as two separate things. An attack will be a defense, and a defense must be an attack.” – Kazuzo Kudo (1898–1970) 9th dan Kodokan Judo
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