Six of the Best

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The aftermath of a not-very-accurate six of the best. Note also the "tram line" effect of the cane.

     


The next picture is of a girl that received 10 strokes of the cane. She is relatively inexperienced at taking the cane as the marks are very visible and, where they cross, they nearly cut the skin. Again the accuracy is questionable, possibly because the caner was trying the avoid the cuts crossing each other. In all, this why a recipient should initially be limited to six strokes and build up with experience.
 

The third picture is of the bottom of a very experienced professional canee. The story line required her to take 100 hard strokes of the cane. Pictures shows her at around cut number 40. As you can see, the marks are mild as her bottom was "as tough as nails". She probably would take three or four canings a week, and her bottom had totally acclimatised to the circumstances. Finally, it is worth noting that this acclimatisation does not last long. Within a couple months, the bottom returns to the softer, more painful state.

 

So how it's not done?

People's perception of how the cane was applied in "public" schools is largely determined by the film industry. In turn, they made little effort to establish authenticity. Most genuine beatings were carried out with the boy (or girl) kneeling on something like a chair or bent over something substantial, so that most of the weight was taken by either his knees or by his tummy. In this way, the ability to move was serverely restricted and the cane could be applied to the rear end fairly accurately. In the two stills below, from feature films, the boys are either "touching their toes" or bent over the back of a chair still effectively standing on their feet. In both positions, It is difficult for very many canees to remain in place. The experienced caner would be unlikely to choose either position.
 


 

    

These two pictures [above and below], taken from Moonglow videos, also illustrate the problems of applying the cane in a touch-your-toes situation. There is no basis for keeping the bottom steady. Click HERE to purchase the clip.

 

So how is it really done?

Positions and attire varied dramatically from institution to institution. The position in the pictures above is common; the canee's weight is resting on the back seat of the chair, which limits his range of movement. However, this is probably not the best position. The recipient really should be kneeling on something to restrict completely his or her movements during the punishment. Attire was also very variable; over trousers, over underwear, over pyjamas or on the bare. Post-war, it was generally deemed more desirable to cane over trousers. Pre-war, it was more variable. The naval academy famously birched students on the bare pre-war! Traditionally, canes were kept wherever they might be required. For instance, behaviour in swimming pools often used to be poor, and subject to antics. A cane would be kept in the pool office for rapid application. Below, we see a boy receive six of the best over his swimming trunks, a situation that arose frequently. To view a traditional pool-side Six of the Best, Click HERE. To download the clip, click HERE

At this point, we run out of stills of boys being caned in the appropriate positions. Consquently, we use stills from Moonglow videos to illustrate the points being made.

Finally, we come to the recommended positions to apply a good thrashing. Essentially there are two: chair back to a table and two chairs back to back. Both are common positions that used to be used in "Public" Schools in the United Kingdom. First, let us consider a chair backing on a table, a very common position.
 







 

Above is a set of stills from the Moonglow video, Sent to the Headmaster's study. We quote from the synopsis of the clip. "After breakfast at a strict, posh, Scottish girls' "public" school, four sixth formers are sent to see the headmaster. Two have been caught bullying and two drinking alcoholic drinks. The headmaster does not hesitate to beat all four girls. The whippy cane lands on each bottom six times, applied hard and accurately by the left handed headmaster." As you can see, the girls' bottoms remain precisely in place as he administers the cane. Even in the last still, her bottom is still even though she is kicking her legs. (To buy this clip, click HERE.)
 
 
 
 
 
 

Our recommended position is the two chairs, back to back. Knees rest on one seat and elbows (or hands) rest on the second. [Some caners favour one chair with the canee bending right down and holding the legs of the second chair. We would not recommend this position as a restless or mischievous canee can esily topple the chair forward.] As you can see, despite some struggling, the bottom essentially remains unmoved and is conducive to accurate application of the cane. These stills are from the Moonglow Video, The Sportmistress; click HERE to purchase.