Hitting on the hands

 

Hitting on the hands was a traditional school punishment all around the world, and can still be used for a naughty sub. I was used for boys and girls, not as the cane, which was mainly reserved to the boys. The dose was usually one to six blows (three on each hand).

As always, we are writing about games among consenting adults, not about punishing children, and I write as a man punishing a woman.

For us, hitting the hands has an added delight in the fact that you are in front of the punished, looking at the fear in her eyes, and noticing the trembling of her offered hand. After hitting, you can see the delightful suffering and the tears on her face.

It is also interesting the fact that she has to submit totally to you, offering meekly the hand for the pain.

Hitting on the hands is also the most adequate punishment for those faults committed with them. The next time she is tempted to use the hand in wrong ways, she will remember the sting.

On the other side, hitting on the hands is dangerous. Hands are delicate and easily damaged. If you are going to punish on the hands, do it with flexible instruments, or with very light ones, and only on the palm's side. The top of the hand has less cushioning, and you could hurt the finger's joints. Use light blows, which are painful enough. The punishment should be for the burning left by the stinging of the blow, not the pain from hurting the hands.

The stinging is generated at skin level. The pain, on hands and feet, mostly by the crushing of the flesh and the nerves against the bones. And the bones are easily chipped and nerves can be easily damaged. So be very cautious.

 

The instruments

Some of the instruments used for punishing the children's hands were actually dangerous weapons, but children were expendable for most of human's history. If you care for your sub, use light ones.

The traditional instruments for punishing the hands were:

• The "spatula", a leather paddle with a round head, sometimes with holes, used by teachers in Classic Roma
• the ferula (or ferule, or even ferrule). The name of several different instruments derived from the Roman word for the rod. We will call ferule to a flat (and for us light) paddle (usually a long handle with small circular head at the business end, that could have holes, as in the Portuguese "menina dos cinco olhos" (five-eyed girl)). A light wooden spatula could substitute. A wooden spoon is too heavy for the hands.
• a strap. The point of a belt (not the buckle's end) could be appropriate. In Scotland the teachers used the tawse (a heavy strap with the end split into two to four tails). There are mentions of a two tailed strap in France (and they called it, what else, férule). The catholic schools used the Irish or Catholic strap, two or more leather strips sewn together to form a formidable multilayer instrument. I believe that it could be dangerous.
• another instrument called also ferule, which consisted on two straps sewn together, leaving a small bag at the business end that was filled with sand. (I never saw one, but I think it could be dangerous unless it is very light.)
• a ruler (the light 12" wooden ruler used at home and at school). As it was readily available, it was frequently used by the teachers that had no specialized instrument at hand.
• a cane. The cane used for hitting the hands was a shorter and lighter version of the rattan one used for the buttocks. I think that a cane is too dangerous for using in the hands. If you are going to use one, it should be very light, and you should be very accurate using it. Practice, practice practice.

 

Published: 09/03/03

Rev: 11/03/03