My dad was a Marine Corp officer and mom was a teacher, discipline was paramount in our household. This was the 60s and 70s and no one questioned a parent or for that matter a teacher/school administrators authority to discipline a child. We got the belt, the yard stick, the wooden spoon, and sometimes the bare hand. Was it excessive at times, yeah maybe. But, we flew straight and right in public and at school. You knew if dad gave you the "look" you better straighten up or face the consequences. I don't feel scarred and I never hated my parents. They installed values, respect and a good sense of right and wrong in us. We are have all been well educated and successful and I thank them for that.
As for my daughter, we have been as others here, very fortunate in how she has turned out. Great kid and successful so far in her own right. I may have spanked her once or twice. Timeout never worked with her and actually generated a worse scenario with her.
I may be wrong in all of this, but I think where many parents miss out is just in the spending of time with their children. We were involved from coaching to volunteering to just spending time with our daughter. While I respected my mom and dad and toed the line, I feel that the time we spent with our daughter helped build the same lines of respect and positive behavior.
It was a different time when I was a kid, to when my daughter was young, to today. I wish parents the best of luck today.
As for hitting a women, well aside from a few of the situational issues, as mad as I have gotten on a few occasions I can never see hitting my spouse.