I recall feeling more worried about being injured when caned on the hand, and was always careful to tuck my thumb down as far as possible to keep it (not always successfully) out of harm’s way. With the bottom, it was just the intense, burning pain, no real fear of injury.
Which prompts two questions:
1. I remember being told by a woman who was at school in Scotland (at a guess somewhere in the years 1970-85)that the normal target for the cane was the knuckles of the outstretched hand. Has anyone else had the cane that way? We always got it on the palm. The thought of cane on knuckles just sends shivers up my spine thinking about it.
2. My worst experience with the cane was when the stroke missed my bum and buried itself in the crack where the legs join the backside. That was excruciating to the max — far worse than the bottom or the hand. Does anyone agree, and does anyone suspect that some teachers deliberately targeted that region?