Types and terms

• For a paddling various terms exist, some referring to wood, the usual material, such as giving wood, the woodshed treatment [fromthe rural tradition that such punishments were administered in such an annex], or more general terms for spanking (see in that article), for corporal punishment or for discipline such as punishment, a lesson, (rightly) deserved, (hide-)tanning, medicine, therapy etc., and even incorrect terms that strictly speaking refer to a different method of physical punishment, such as a whipping; it's also possible to specify the anatomical target (thus indirectly affirming it's a form of spanking), for example arse whupping.
• The term fraternity paddle (its more recent counterpart is sorority paddle) was introduced for the instrument for hazing or punishment, which was often kept by an alumnus (for example to discipline his or her children) or deliberately analogous (for example in BDSM role play), especially if it carries Greek-organization markings. It is still commonly offered by pledges ("little Brothers" or -sisters) to their "big Brothers" or "big Sisters" as a gift. It is a symbol of their induction to the sorority or fraternity. From the 1950s to the present day, many U.S. sporting goods companies have produced paddles in a standardized size: 22 inches long, 3.5 inches wide, and a half-inch thick—including a hole drilled into the handle so it can be hung on display. These are usually customized for the presentation ritual, typically with the name of the university and fraternity (or sorority) printed on one side and a coat-of-arms decal, engraved Greek symbols and a "to" and "from" dedication printed on the reverse.
• Paddles are often made from (expensive but durable) hardwood, such as maple, oak, mahogany or walnut, and finished with varnish or teak oil; plastic causes less pain due to lower density, though some modern paddles are made of Lexan (fiberglass being too likely to break—allegedly that occasionally happens even to hardwood; of course the measurements are also relevant).
• Nevertheless some paddles are sometimes not factory-made but home-made or home-modified objects, for example a shortened canoe paddle or baseball bat with one side flatted to half or less, as used on cadets in Columbia Military Academy; especially in domestic discipline (and in BDSM) various pervertibles are used, including the kitchen utensil cutting board (wooden and paddle-shaped)
• As a paddle is flat and inflexible, unlike a cane or whip, it's too blunt to cause stripes—only bruises can result from excessive force—and because of its size it's unfit for a particularly painful 'bulls-eye' in the butt-crack (affording the spankee at least a modicum of protection).
• Generally the physical impact is therefore not greatly increased, only the humiliation, if administered bare-arse, except in the case of the holed paddle, which has holes drilled in it in order to reduce air resistance (in the 1930s American teacher Harold Spencer discovered holes reduced the un-aerodynamic cushioning effect of air; the original, oblong model was known as a Spencer paddle), which causes the victim to blister much faster (these holes may be beveled to reduce the chances of blistering).
• Furthermore a long model (including the handle) increases the leverage and hence the force applied on the punished skin. While a big blade looks frightening, it spreads the force over a larger surface, and so with equal weight it would hit less intensely. A narrow shape can be more cane-like, to concentrate all the force of one or several consecutive blows on a single buttock or parts of it, rather than across the entire behind, to cause more intense pain and worse bruising.
• On the other hand, if the damage allowed is limited, inflicting strokes less intensely allows prolonging the duration of the ordeal of the paddling, as to work over different parts of the butt; prolongation is also possible by pausing, which has the added effect of causing the victim to suffer further mentally (and ponder the offense being punished) while having to wait for the next painful installment.
• However the term paddle is sometimes used for devices of similar dimensions in other materials, often more flexible (even leather), which are therefore generally better called strap etcetera.
• As there's quite a market for paddles in regions where paddlings are still (or again) administered in hazing or education and in family households, as well as in erotic spanking, there are companies which cater for one or more of these markets, often in combination with other items (disciplinarian or not), for fraternity/sorority, home, and erotic use, but most of the terms and names these use are rather arbitrary. There are also various roadside and resort novelty shops that sell paddles (small and large); these are often decorated with humorous motifs and instructions such as "Board of Education," "Heat for the Seat," "How to Paddle Your Wife" and "Frontier Tail-blazer."
• Very similar, though usually not named paddle, can be the wooden 'sword' (often bamboo and usually flattened; otherwise it's rather a cane) used for corporal discipline, mainly on the buttocks, but also on the hands, in the Far East, such as the Japanese shinai (used to train fencing in martial arts), which is common practice in popular, expensive private 'after hours' schools (see (External Link)).

Scope of use

Judicial punishment

(External Link)

Social discipline

Some school traditions enforce(d) rules by paddling offenders. In the University of Missouri until World War II,^{(External Link)}, any freshman found on the 'quad', the most prestigious square on campus, had to offer his 'insolent' posterior for punishment along a paddle line formed by swatting seniors.