Sometimes there are cases where people may genuinely want to resort to physical punishment, but it's a last resort. I can recall several instances where I have done everything possible to try and get a kid to do something, yet he refused to and was being a smartass. I was so close to snapping and going crazy. Stupid kids.
It's not about a quick, lazy, or easy method of punishment, more about utilising the humane experience of pain; If you act this way, you will get hit, hence experience pain. In order to no longer experience this pain in the future, don't repeat your actions. Simple.