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I'm interested in old fashioned school type discipline, on the hands only, with either a cane or Tawse/strap from the recipient's side.
Can anyone that has received both(or either with their thoughts) comment on how big a difference there is? Which one is more painful? Long lasting sting? More feared? Etc
Also, which if either, leave longer lasting marks on the hands? How quickly do the signs disappear for either?
Thanks to all for any help with this one.
TawsePlease
I hate being caned on the hands, it isn't just painful it makes me feel sick and I am sure that it could damage the hands. I don't much like the strap on my hands because it hurts, but it is meant to hurt! If I have to have my hands strapped I prefer something wide and not too heavy, but if the Headmaster decides that a few stroke of his Lochgelly tawse is appropriate I try to comply obediently.
Never caned but had hands tawsed. Depending on style of app it sometims left welts on wrist. Also depends on thickness and flexibility.
I've never considered it but I'd have thought that the lack of flesh on the hands would make the experience extremely painful and potentially damaging to bone - particularly when the recipient is older. Having bruised a rib at work some time ago it is still painful.
Bottom every time for me as the strap or tawse 'reaches the parts (flanks) that a cane doesn't' and there is little bone or other organs to damage as long as it's accurate.
Hi,
I went to Catholic schools pre war. At the elementary school each teach had a cane. All were women. We were always caned on the hands. It was a commonplace for the teacher to cane the whole class for the most trivial of reasons (?) Hands were usually bruised as the teachers caned very hard.
At eleven I was sent to a secondary school run by Jesuits. The used a ferula which legend had that it was made of a piece of whale bone coated with rubber. I doubted it as obtaining a piece of whale bone would be difficult enough and coating it is rubber is a dangerous procedure. So, years later I wrote to the Jesuit Information Centre at Farm Street London asking about the ferula. I was informed that ferulas were made of Gutta Percha, a hard flexible rubber, easily obtained in those times – golf balls were made of Gutta Percha. They beat out hands with the ferula. Having hands beaten with a ferula was known as having ferulas. Beating boy’s hand with a ferula was known as giving ferulas.
There was a sliding scale. Boys of 11 and 12 got six (three on each hand) boys of 13 and 14 got nine (five on hand and four on the other) boys of 15 and 16 got twelve (six on each hand) and sometimes 18 (nine of each hand}.
The pain was agonising and lasted all day. On waking the next morning my hands were still throbbing and aching for the previous day. Of course the beaten hands swelled up. After having had my hands beaten in the morning they were still so swollen at five o clock when I want home by train that I could not open the big brass train carriage doors handle.
The ferulas were given at the mid morning break, mid-day break and end of school by a Jesuit Scholastic. The teacher would order boys ferulas by writing out a ‘bill’ during he course of the lessons. Boys took their ‘bills’ and joined the queue out side the empty class room where the Jesuit Scholastic was giving the ferulas. There were alwayslong queues.
What offences earned such a dreadful punishment? Well there was two hours written homework every night except on Saturday – yes we went to school on Saturday morning – when there were four hours written homework. Up to fourteen years of age getting half the homework wrong automatically earned ferulas. Over forteen getting a quarter homework wrong earned ferulas. In addition was also unlimited leaning homework. There was always Catechism learning, poetry learning and Latin grammar learning every night. Additionally subjects studied during the day had learning homework with them but the teacher would not hear boy reciting their homework learning until the next time had that subject again. Of course not all the boys in the class would have to recite their learning homework but there usually about eight or nine boys who had to do it. Learning homework had to be word perfect other wise ferulas.
My life was absolute misery. I longed for death. I attempted suicide three times. My parents were far from sympathetic. In their eyes the Jesuits were men of God. They could do no wrong. I was very fortunate to be able top go to such a school.
I hate Jesuits they assaulted us the insulted us, scorned and ridiculed us. It was physical and psychological assault all day every day. Is it any wonder I still hate Jesuits?
The hands are the most sensitive m after the tongue part of the human body. It is cruel, very cruel, to beat the hands. So what kind of person would beat a boy’s hands?
John Lindsey
Tawse on the hands is appropriate,the cane is brutal.
I have experiene of receiving the cane and tawse on the hands and bottom, and of giving the tawse on the hands. Firstly, I would avoid the cane on the hands - it can cause lasting damage. The tawse on the hans hurts like hell at the time and is very hard to take. It is hard not to watch the stroke and hard to keep your hands still, but that's part of the discipline. It hurts for a day or so but the marks are generally minimal unless the strokes are badly aimed and hit the wrist.
I would rather have the tawse on the bare bottom than on the hands - it hurts a little less at the time although it usually goes on hurting and leaves marks for several days. The cane on the bottom is the most painful - at the time and much more so for the days afterwards and you can expect the marks to last for a couple of weeks.
Tim
I have had both types of punishment and the cane is by far the worst,whether used on the hands or the bum. The strap on the hands numbs them and then they start burning. This subsides after about half an hour to an hour after the punishment ( one stroke on each hand ). The cane hurts more and it is very hard to hold your hand out and keep it still. The belt on the bum isn't too bad,unless it's on the bare. I had 6 on the bare bum after school, not very hard,but really warms you up. The cane on the bum with thin pants on is like being flogged ! You can hardly sit down and you can feel the black and blue ridges on your bum. The marks can easily be there for a week ! Ouch.
At secondary school I was caned once on the hand, along with everybody else in the class, and once on the bottom. The caning on my hand was extremely painful, the cane landing very hard on the fleshiest part of my palm, which swelled up and went numb for a couple of hours afterwards; so numbe, I couldn't form a fist.
The caning on my bottom was much less painful; the cane hit my right cheek only - yes I still remember, even after forty years - and it stung like hell but after half an hour or so, the sting had gone, and there was no mark at all when I undressed for bed that night.
Mind you, the same teacher once caned two other lads so hard they each had an ugly bruise about an inch or so wide across both cheeks that didn't fade for a month or more. So maybe I was lucky, or maybe he was just very selective with his cane.
Targetarear
Quote:
Originally Posted by LESLIE
I agree with most correspondents that punishment on the hands is barbaric, and am glad to say it never happened to me. However, one of the peculiarities of working-class life was the readiness with which parents and even children accepted caning on the hands, while reacting with horror and indignation if it was done on the backside. My elder brother was caned on the hand at his secondary modern school, and our parents made no objection, but when I was beaten the sky nearly fell in, leading to an excruciatingly embarrassing interview with my housemaster who assumed that the complaint had come from me.
Hi
At my Secondary school in the 60's I was caned once on the hand. I got two strokes on each hand and it hurt a great deal. I remember it made me cry. Unfortunetly for me my dad spanked me for being caned at school. The pain in my hands lasted longer than dad's spanking! The canings I got on my backside where 4 strokes in the 3rd year, and 6strokes in the 5th tear. Both hurt a lot but nothing like the hand caning in the first year. It is hard to find anyone who is willing to hand cane these days. I visited a master once who did and he was very good brought teas to my eyes again.
I went to Catholic schools pre war. At the elementary school each teach had a cane. All were women. We were always caned on the hands. It was a commonplace for the teacher to cane the whole class for the most trivial of reasons (?) Hands were usually bruised as the teachers caned very hard.
At eleven I was sent to a secondary school run by Jesuits. The used a ferula which legend had that it was made of a piece of whale bone coated with rubber. I doubted it as obtaining a piece of whale bone would be difficult enough and coating it is rubber is a dangerous procedure. So, years later I wrote to the Jesuit Information Centre at Farm Street London asking about the ferula. I was informed that ferulas were made of Gutta Percha, a hard flexible rubber, easily obtained in those times – golf balls were made of Gutta Percha. They beat out hands with the ferula. Having hands beaten with a ferula was known as having ferulas. Beating boy’s hand with a ferula was known as giving ferulas.
There was a sliding scale. Boys of 11 and 12 got six (three on each hand) boys of 13 and 14 got nine (five on hand and four on the other) boys of 15 and 16 got twelve (six on each hand) and sometimes 18 (nine of each hand}.
The pain was agonising and lasted all day. On waking the next morning my hands were still throbbing and aching for the previous day. Of course the beaten hands swelled up. After having had my hands beaten in the morning they were still so swollen at five o clock when I want home by train that I could not open the big brass train carriage doors handle.
The ferulas were given at the mid morning break, mid-day break and end of school by a Jesuit Scholastic. The teacher would order boys ferulas by writing out a ‘bill’ during he course of the lessons. Boys took their ‘bills’ and joined the queue out side the empty class room where the Jesuit Scholastic was giving the ferulas. There were alwayslong queues.
What offences earned such a dreadful punishment? Well there was two hours written homework every night except on Saturday – yes we went to school on Saturday morning – when there were four hours written homework. Up to fourteen years of age getting half the homework wrong automatically earned ferulas. Over forteen getting a quarter homework wrong earned ferulas. In addition was also unlimited leaning homework. There was always Catechism learning, poetry learning and Latin grammar learning every night. Additionally subjects studied during the day had learning homework with them but the teacher would not hear boy reciting their homework learning until the next time had that subject again. Of course not all the boys in the class would have to recite their learning homework but there usually about eight or nine boys who had to do it. Learning homework had to be word perfect other wise ferulas.
My life was absolute misery. I longed for death. I attempted suicide three times. My parents were far from sympathetic. In their eyes the Jesuits were men of God. They could do no wrong. I was very fortunate to be able top go to such a school.
I hate Jesuits they assaulted us the insulted us, scorned and ridiculed us. It was physical and psychological assault all day every day. Is it any wonder I still hate Jesuits?
The hands are the most sensitive m after the tongue part of the human body. It is cruel, very cruel, to beat the hands. So what kind of person would beat a boy’s hands?
John Lindsey[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=ferula;7660]Hi, Great to read about your experience with ferulas. I too went to a Catholic School in Enfield run by the Jesuits. Yes we were beaten on the hands on a regular basis. 12.20pm and 4.05pm usually in Room 3 administered by a Jesuit or Master. The max number for 3rd year boys (13/14 year olds0 was 6 but 8 for 4th &5th years ( 15/16). The Jesuits either gave 3or 4 very loud strokes rapidly on one hand and then on the other - extremely painful, leaving the hands very hot, swollen and the stinging took hours to wear off; sometimes bruises were left! One Master made the boys hold up their arms so that they were either side of the body - the hands now at shoulder height. He would then give the 1st ferula aiming at the thumb area and then walk across to the other hand and give the 2nd (5 or 6 seconds later). He would then walk back to give the 3rd stroke - so if you had 8 ferulas this method of delivery would take about 40 seconds from start to finish. Long drawn out and very painful! He certainly appeared to enjoy it! There were at least 20 boys getting ferulas every day! As you say the ferula was a ferocious method of punishment.
I'll write more later - but it would be good to hear from you John and anyone else with similar experiences. Cheers, Mike