Meoto-de or Husband and Wife Hand

Nakata Mizuhiko wrote about a question he asked Motobu Chōki about meoto-de, which is interesting and a bit long, but I quote it below.

Nakata: Sensei, in karate, when you strike an opponent, do you pull your fist to your side first?

Motobu: Think about it. If you take the time and effort to do that, the opponent will attack you in the meantime. All attacks should be done immediately from wherever the hand is positioned.

Nakata: Sensei, in karate, when you defend with one hand, you pull the other hand to your side. In that case, your front is half unprotected. I know from what you just said that it is not right to put your fist at your side, but what does that mean in this case?

Motobu: Everything you’re talking about is how it works in kata, not how it actually is. In karate, it’s called meoto-de, and in both attacking and defending, the hands are supposed to move together like a married couple, close together. See, like this …

As Sensei said this, while sitting down, he repeated in front of his face many times, from left to right and from right to left, a defensive action somewhat similar to the shūtō uke (knife hand block) in general karate, in which the front hand and the reserve hand move close together.

He continued, “There are many meanings hidden in kata. If you don’t understand the meanings and think that what you see on the surface of a kata is karate as it is, you are mistaken and will end up with a strange…