Caning is a form of
corporal punishment (see that article for generalities and alternatives) consisting of a number of hits (known as "strokes" or "cuts") with a single
cane usually made of
rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed
buttocks (see
spanking) or
hand(s) (on the palm). Application of a cane to the
knuckles or the
shoulders has been much less common. Caning can also be applied to the soles of the feet (
foot whipping or bastinado). The size and flexibility of the cane and the mode of application, as well as the number of the strokes, vary greatly—from a couple of light strokes with a small cane across the seat of a junior schoolboy's trousers, to 24 very hard, wounding cuts on the bare buttocks with a large, heavy, soaked rattan as a judicial punishment in south-east Asia.