Man catcher

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A man catcher is an esoteric type of pole weapon which was used in Europe as late as the 18th century. It consisted of a pole mounted with a two pronged head. Each prong was semi-circular in shape with a spring loaded 'door' on the front. This created an effective valve that would allow the ring to pass around a man-sized cylinder and keep it trapped. The man catcher was used primarily to pull a person from horseback and drag them to the ground where they could be helplessly pinned. This is one of the few examples of non-lethal polearms.

Man catchers played a role in the medieval custom of capturing noble opponents for ransom. The design assumes that the captured person wears armor to protect him against the metal prongs, which could easily hurt the neck of a person without armor.

The Japanese invented a similar weapon called Sasumata.