did the cane really hurt.

I wonder when you were caned on the bottom if it really hurt. Was the pain really bad caused by the cane striking yoour bottom or was it more in the mind saying that you are having your bottom caned and it must be hurting a lot. In other words did you think that as your bottom was caned it was hurting more than the actual physical pain caused as it was hit. Of course it hurt but was most of the pain physical or mental. ?

I have seen boys standing outside the headmaster’s study with fear etched into their face because they knew that the cane would really hurt their behinds. It was intended to hurt and it certainly fulfilled its purpose. The trepidation as you waited to be summoned into the office was real but curiously once in and the you were told what was in store there was an acceptance of the inevitable and from that point you just bent over, gritted your teeth and took what was up to six hard strokes across your bottom.

Did the cane really hurt?  It certainly did and it was physically painful, it wasn’t just in the mind.  The analogy I have often used is banging your elbow on the edge of a piece of furniture.  It hurts a lot for a short time and then eases.  The thing about the cane is that just as it begins to ease it happens again, and then again! – perhaps even six times.  The worst is probably over in a couple of minutes, but what you feel in those minutes is real, not imaginary.

I was caned three times, all between age 11 and 13.  The first one actually took me by surprise: it was for something relatively trivial and I think I only expected to be told off.  The caning happened in a blur and I’m sure it did hurt but I can’t remember how much.  The second caning was more expected/anticipated and I remember going through some teeth-gritting before the “lines of fire”.  It was really, really smart but I’d say short of brutal – just at the upper limit of what a 12 yr old could cope with.  My final dose was rather more swift and perfunctory – the Head was dealing with literally six or seven of us (receiving stolen goodies from the tuck shop, since you ask) and I think he was slightly going through the motions.  But yes, the effectiveness was partly in the anticipation, especially for a pupil who’d never experienced it before, and was probably all a-tremble, but the actual sting of the cane wasn’t only in the mind, it was fire across the bottom….

A few well deserved hard strokes of the cane from a respected teacher, administered without delay, can hurt greatly but cause much less distress than a mild but unfair and delayed caning.

Literally millions of teen age boys were caned at school. By far the greatest number of canings in English-tradition schools was in the second half of the century after the beginning of compulsory education (circa 1870’s), mainly in the years following WW2 when the number of naughty boys in school was the greatest. The popularity suggests the cane was about right in its severity. Getting caned was generally no laughing matter but nor was it something too traumatic and damaging provided only it was used fairly.

I do not really know the answer to that question. There was certainly mental anguish before the caning and it always seemed to sting very much more than I had remembered from before. However, I doubt it was very severe when I hear the accounts of others!

Matt338@hotmail.com

My recollection is that it certainly did hurt. I got caned twice on the hands at primary school and my hands felt red hot. I got six canings at senior school and all on the bottom. I well remember how painful the first stroke always felt. Sitting down was painful those days and made worse by the hard wooden chairs or benches.

The pain was definately not in my mind!

PeteL1951 wrote:My recollection is that it certainly did hurt. I got caned twice on the hands at primary school and my hands felt red hot. I got six canings at senior school and all on the bottom. I well remember how painful the first stroke always felt. Sitting down was painful those days and made worse by the hard wooden chairs or benches.

The pain was definately not in my mind!

Dick Templemeads

It stung to start then throbbed for several hours and the marks lasted about 1 week. But worse than the pain was waiting touching toes trousers round ankles while the head took an age to select his weapon.

This was an account given to the question “What does being caned feel like?” on a site called Quora.
I would question its authenticity as the phraseology used is clearly American where as far as I know the cane is/was not used as the preferred implement of discipline.

What does being caned feel like?

Cornay Gibson, Project Manager
Answered Tue

The year was 1979 and my best friend and I had just cheated on an exam. For our efforts we got the notorious 6 of the best.
We were pretty cocksure that we were one up on the teacher but we were wrong — very wrong. She called us to the front of the classroom gave us both a tongue lashing, in full view of my first crush. Oh the shame.
From a time when political correctness and other modern day get-out-of-jail-free-cards were unheard of, we were ordered to the Principal’s office. Another verbal onslaught followed and then the Principal walked past us to an oak cupboard.

The Principal turned around and presented a pale yellow cane. He bent it a few times and then skillfully flicked it a couple of times.
The principal told me to stand up and commanded me to bend over the comfy leather chair that had just massaged my ass. My brain was screaming why the bloody hell did I have to go first? My mind was now racing, thoughts blended into gibberish. Just days ago my favourite weed smoking uncle had gone all Lao Tzu on me with a quote “You can only know what you want in life, when you know what you don’t want!”. Well yeah, I did not want to be bent over this bloody chair right now!!!

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the same ‘schweep’ sound I had heard mere minutes before. Another followed but I did not feel it. A possible explanation could be that I had clenched my glutes to the same pressure that produces industrial grade diamonds plus the fact that I tried to act all Alpha in front of my mate.

The third shot rang my bell though. You asked what being caned feels like and I can go on record here by saying it probably feels like a thousand wasps that had just stepped on Lego blocks, all darting your backside en masse . The fourth shot felt like those same wasps being a little more pissed as their situation had compounded by them also having forgotten their Instagram passwords.
The last two shots landed on numb cheeks. I was now involuntarily crying. I did not care that my friend could tell the world. Just when I thought things could not get any worse, a pain emerged from somewhere deep within. This pain orininated from six lines on my rump, having torn through all the layers of my skin, but one. This was what the word excruciating pain means by its intrinsic definition.
My friend received his jacks and the rest of the day was a buffet of embarrassing remarks, more pain when sitting and just hours that did not conform to the standard sixty minutes.

The real pain however had its way with me at home. This was where I had to hide the reason and my red derriere from my parents.
Now, if you think that I learned a lesson that day, your thinking would be filed in the Erroneous Department.
After all, I am Cornay Gibson. The Patron Saint of the phrase “I was just a dumbass kid”…

As you suggest, Bripuk, this doesn’t ring true.  Even if based on a real event, it has been embellished and the Americanisms added for theatrical effect.

I would just leave the forum members with one thought – have you ever tried “clenching your glutes” when you are bending over?

Of course it does particularly when it is across your bare bottom as I got it. It was like being set on fire and stung by a swarm of bees,the pain was unbelievable. After the first stroke I shot up grapping my bottom with both hands rubbing madly to try to ease the pain only to be told to resume the position and not to stand up again or I would get extra. After each stroke I howled out loud and promised to try harder in future but to no avail. When I had received the 6 strokes I was crying like a 2year old.