My first caning was three strokes on my hand and that hurt a lot more than my subsequent canings on my bum – with the exception of my last “(what I call) “six of the VERY best” the third time I was caught smoking. It could be because my first caning was from a different headmistress so it’s possible she caned harder than her successor. It’s also possible that the same (size of) cane was used each time (it was over two years between my first and second canings) so it had a greater effect when used on my hand.