When I think "painful initiation ritual", I think "glove made out of bullet ants" [1] not "organized sporting event in which everyone is wearing armor and hurting someone badly is grounds for stopping the game and rushing him/her to the hospital".

Even if you pick something like Boxing or similar contact sports where the goal is to intentionally hurt your opponent, it is still a far-cry from sticking your hand into a whiting mass of animals that have the most painful bite ever recorded.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraponera_clavata#Initiation_...

Ironically maybe having a glove full of ants once in a while is safer than shocking your head repeatedly every week for years...

Isn't that inferal tree in Australia more painful?

Pedantic: it's a tree so it doesn't bite? But yeah, the gympie gympie [0] sounds horrible - potentially too horrible/long-lasting effects for a rite of passage? Luckily, it's in Australia!

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrocnide_moroides