History Main / LiteralDisarming

Sometimes, in the middle of a fight, it becomes necessary to separate a combatant from their weapon. However, standard disarming techniques aren't working or just don't quite have the effect desired, and instead, the disarmee feels the need to remove a whole hand to make sure their opponent can't fight back. This has the added advantage of making sure the attacker doesn't need to worry about their enemy retrieving the weapon and continuing the fight... they no longer have any means of gripping the weapon in the first place.

* '' Manga/BlackButler'': Sebastian cleanly slices off [[spoiler:Joker]]'s arm with just a dagger near the end of the [[spoiler:Circus Arc]].

--> '''Rancor''': ''(raises his arm to strike WD-40)'': Ah-hah!
--> (''arm falls off'')
--> '''WD-40''': Oh-hoh!

--> '''Rancor''': Leave me alone, I'm an unarmed man!

--> '''Bushwacker''': "You bastard! What are you doing?!"
--> '''Frank Castle''': "Disarming you."

->''"''Cho moi'' translates as 'to cut off the weapon hand.' Because this strike instantly ends an opponent's ability to use a weapon but does not kill, ''choi moi'' is a preferred move in combat."''

Lighter works may decide to make sure that the arm lost [[FakeArmDisarm wasn't flesh and blood to begin with]], or invoke GoodThingYouCanHeal afterwards to prevent the damage from being permanent. When played for laughs, a {{Pun}} about "disarming" is usually imminent. Note that this trope only applies when the removal of a limb is ''specifically'' to make the improvised amputee less threatening... in any other case, it's just AnArmAndALeg.

* Encouraged against [[MechaMooks Loader enemies]] in ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' and the expansions of ''VideoGame/Borderland3''. In addition to the shoulder joints of most models being [[AttackItsWeakPoint weak points]] that take critical hit damage when shot, dealing enough damage to the joint removes the Loader's arm along with any weapons carried/[[ArmCannon built into]] said arm. Loaders disarmed this way are reduced to using a weak and slow EyeBeam attack.

* In ''Videogame/{{Rimworld}}'' it's possible to capture a raider, replace their healthy limbs with {{Seadog Peg Leg}}s and/or {{Hook Hand}}s, and release them. Your doctors will get experience from performing the amputations and the raider will be significantly less threatening if they ever attempt to attack your colony again. Amputating limbs can also be used as [[NailedToTheWagon an extreme measure to deal with colonists with addictions to drugs.]]

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsIntoReverie'', [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure Arios MacLaine]] does this towards Emperor Dogma after Nadia notes that they need to separate the [[ArtifactOfDoom Heavenly Regalia]], which is attached to his shoulder, from his body at the climax of [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel Rufus']] chapter 4 in his [[BreakoutCharacter route.]].]]

--> ''WD-40'': Oh-hoh!
-->-- ''(WD-40 stands up and starts moving towards Rancor, who backs away in terror)''
--> ''Rancor'': Leave me alone, I'm an unarmed man!

[[folder:Films — Animation]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]

* In ''Literature/GrandmasterOfDemonicCultivationMoDaoZuShi'', after efforts to conventionally disarm the villain [[spoiler: Jin Guangyao]] fail allowing him to take Jin Ling hostage with RazorFloss, Lan Wangji cuts off the villain's hand to free Jin Ling.

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': Shigaraki takes off Overhaul’s arms to render him quirkless.

* ''Manga/ChainsawMan''

* Episode 3 of ''Anime/QueenEmeraldas'' ends with the title heroine lopping off the cyborg mass murderer Vaidas' hands, before Hiroshi finishes him off with a headshot.

* Franchise/MarvelComics:
** In ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica #334'', John Walker fights training dummies to get used to Cap's shield. He throws it with too much force, accidentally cutting a dummy's hand off.

** The "Judgement War" ''ComicBook/XFactor'' storyline culminates in [[ComicBook/JeanGrey Marvel Girl]] absorbing the energy of the alien factions of the planet where the story took place, and transferring it to ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} to stop the Celestials' judgement. A cosmic symbol imprinted on Arishem's hand could start the judgement process if his verdict was negative, so Cyclops destroyed the hand with a powered-up optic blast.

** ''ComicBook/SWORD2020:'' During the events of ''King in Black'', Frenzy tears off Kid Cable's artificial limb and clubs him with it, also depriving him of his bodyslide tech, which he'd been using to TeleportSpam.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Hippolyta cuts the arm off of one of ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}'s brainwashed victims in order to get him to let go of [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Donna]]. Donna does not appreciate the level of violence her mother brings to the fight as she was hoping to take him out of the fight without causing permanent damage, but it does allow them to move forward with uncovering Darkseid's plot.

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070910 "Revenge of the Weasel Queen"]]:
-->'''Agatha:''' Ah, good. I wanted a chance to test my pocket de-arming device.\\

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace''. Uncle Kelboe, fearing that Justin will report him to the Wizard Council for being [[Music/{{Shakira}} Shakira]], reveals that the council punishes wizards by [[BlackComedy having a dragon ''break their hands'']] to take away their ability to use a wand.

*** In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', he loses his ''other'' arm, as well as both legs for good measure, during his duel with Obi-Wan, which leaves him helplessly burning up next to a river of lava.
*** Finally, in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', he loses his hand again, this time to Luke, which allows the latter to win the duel between them.