Torite

Historical martial method / restraint and capture terminology

Torite can be understood literally as “seizing hands” or “methods of capture.” In Japanese martial contexts, the term has been used for methods concerned with taking control of another person through seizing, restraining, immobilizing, or apprehending them.

Rather than describing a single standardized martial art, torite appears within different traditions and historical settings. Its methods could include joint manipulation, controlling the limbs or body, takedowns, restraints, and other means of preventing an opponent from continuing to resist.

The objective is important to understanding the term. Not every martial encounter required an opponent to be seriously injured or killed. Situations involving arrest, detention, interrogation, or maintaining social order could instead require a person to be brought under control. This encouraged the development and preservation of methods specifically suited to capture and restraint.

Weapons and implements could also form part of this broader context. Depending on the tradition and period, methods of apprehension might interact with weapons carried by either participant or with specialized implements used for restraint and arrest.

As with many terms associated with historical Japanese close combat, torite should be understood within the particular ryū-ha, period, and context in which it appears, rather than as the name of one universal technical system.