hands on

to wield a weapon

On May 27th, with their husbands, brothers and fathers dead or dying, the women of Cochabamba didn't hesitate to take up arms and rise up in defense of the ...
www.boliviabella.com/mothers-day.html - En caché - Similares;

I'm afraid there is no succinct way to preserve the Spanish bon mot of "literally".

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Note added at 7 mins (2011-03-04 15:22:20 GMT)
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"An active politician to be reckoned with, who wasn't afraid to take up arms (on occasion)" would work nicely for me, pax polyglot45.


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Note added at 1 hr (2011-03-04 16:48:30 GMT)
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I'd still omit the "literally" tag though...

It might run: "He was an active and pugnacious politician - literally so." Or something like that. I wondered about "combative", which might do as an alternative.
I admit that "de armas tomar" in its usual metaphorical sense doesn't quite mean "pugnacious", but it's not too far away, I think. My idea is to find a word or phrase that literally means prone to fight but is usually used metaphorically, and can be said of a politician who is formidable or feisty. I think "pugnacious" may be such a word:

"Sarkozy, with his supermodel wife, his immigrant background, his penchant for Montblanc pens and Cuban heels, was a breath of fresh air, a pugnacious politician who promised to reinvigorate France."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2010/sep/19/nicolas-sa...

"Ozawa's backers say the gruff, pugnacious politician has the leadership and skills to break through Japan's stalemate and win cooperation from opposition parties"
http://www.xe.com/news/2010-09-13 21:52:00.0/1391829.htm

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Note added at 1 hr (2011-03-04 17:10:08 GMT)
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"pugnacious:
readily disposed to fight; belligerent" (Collins)

"1. pugnacious - tough and callous by virtue of experience, hard-bitten, hard-boiled, tough - not given to gentleness or sentimentality; "a tough character" [that's "de armas tomar" in its normal sense]
2. pugnacious - ready and able to resort to force or violence; "pugnacious spirits...lamented that there was so little prospect of an exhilarating disturbance"- Herman Melville; "they were rough and determined fighting men" [that's the "literally" part]
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pugnacious

The phrase "de armas tomar" is usually used to refer to women. Una "mujer de armas tomar" es una que tiene un carácter o personalidad fuerte, decidida y valiente lo que hace que sea alguien difícil de tratar o manipular. No tiene nada que ver con llevar armas en el sentido literal. Por eso el autor añade "literalmente" porque esta persona, seguramente una mujer, sí tomo armas en el sentido literal. Es como decir "He's carrying a torch for her - literally" if a bloke uses a flashlight to help the girl he loves in vain. You wouldn't associate the phrase to "carry a torch for someone" to mean a professional torch-bearer. So it is with women "de armas tomar".