Poland - initiation beltings: two clips.
Clip 1 of 2: Football team
In this 6-minute video, set in a football team's locker room in 2010, we see a new member being welcomed with a traditional belting ritual. The recipient has to bend over with his hands on a bench and his feet apart, to receive the whacks across the seat of his trousers; he is given time to recover after each stroke, during which he wanders about the room in pain, cursing and clutching his buttocks. We see about 12 strokes being delivered, by different team members, mostly as hard as they can. This was evidently not the whole of his ordeal, as the whipping appears to have started before the film begins, and perhaps also continued after it ends.
HERE IS THE CLIP:
Clip 2 of 2: Polish Army
This 6-minute poor-quality video clip shows three young men being initiated into the Polish Army. From the fancy uniforms, I think these must be army officers rather than ordinary soldiers. The beneficiary lies along a bench, where he is provided with cushions. Padding is placed above and below the target area to protect against any mis-stroke. The members present, of whom there are 15, then go round in a circle, taking it in turns to deliver one whack with a belt to the seat of the lad's trousers. A certain amount of yelping ensues on the part of the "victim" but it is all taken in good part.
HERE IS THE CLIP:
