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shirleym56 Not being able to take it well is more a matter of the instructor's choice than the courage of the student. The instructor has many choices to make and he or she can easily choose to go reasonable lightly and allow the student to "get through" it relatively composed. See Master Chikki (@Chikki) for enlightening accounts of the mindset of the instructor's holding the cane.
There is nothing shameful about "minding" or not shrugging off the strokes, from the first to the last. Judging by the recollections posted on SW, the level of pain involved may have been unsurpassed in your lifetime, even if you delivered a baby "naturally" and not surgically. Master Chikki in his brilliantly composed reflections on the thousands of cane strokes he firmly and fairly administered admits that each time he had no joy, no pleasure, and except for some tiny satisfaction at his accuracy of stroke, no fulfillment.
As noted by @Eeyore and myself, agony is not an essential element required for inducing moral reflection. In my admittedly never humble opinion, I believe that it is a barrier to genuine reform. See the many episodes of what adults "learn" from the various levels of isolation in adult prison for further evidence in support of this thesis.
