Hamstringing is a method of crippling a person or animal so that they cannot walk properly, by cutting the two large tendons at the back of the knees.
A victim of hamstringing cannot stand properly, walk or run once the hamstring tendons have been cut. The victim is limited to use of the muscles on the top of the thigh for controlling the legs.
Hamstringing chariot horses as a means of destroying military resources is mentioned in the Bible; in the King James Version it is called houghing,[1] from an old spelling of hock. In post-slavery Brazil, this method was used to punish Capoeira players.
"Hamstringing" or "to be hamstrung" can also be considered a metaphor which refers to putting someone at any unfair disadvantage with respect to their competitors.