I think it's a big difference. what would you choose and why? - to be sexually tortured or jump down a hole in the ice?
I don't see any sense in either, so I would opt out. The teacher may carry on and do it himself, but I certainly would not - unless it was necessary, and the reason convincing enough.
I can totally understand how you're thinking. Maybe i forgot to tell you it's our gym class teacher (if that makes any difference?) and i think it's a lot about survival, yes. Define what a normal school is .. i mean, it's rather large differences from country to country.
In my entire time at school, in three different European countries, I have not come across any such practices you mentioned.
My problem with this is that not taking part in it is almost impossible for students. For one, since it's public, people will think of you as a coward. Then, since it's apparently part of the standard curriculum, your grade may suffer from it. So, no half-way normal student would tell that teacher to f
uck off and jump in the hole himself. The pressure, both social and educational, towards doing it is off-putting.
I had to take bullcrap from lots of teachers. That's partly why I feel a strong resentment towards them. I just think that such activities should be forbidden, or entirely voluntarily.