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repeatedly punch each other in the face and head for a minute.
Although they wear gloves, gumshields and headguards the encounters are brutal. The aim is to make sure they can keep fighting even when they have been attacked.
This all leads to the final stage, the most gruelling and infamous physical test in the Army, called P Company, which is designed to make or break the strongest candidates.
It involves eight tests, including a race carrying a 200lb stretcher over five miles, a 20-mile endurance march (with a 35lb pack and rifle) and a 60ft aerial-assault course.
Explaining what drives them, one recruit explains he wanted to be a Para because it was “the last outpost for hard men who are willing to do bad things to bad people”.
Women are now eligible to join the Paras but so far none has ever passed the P Company test.
During the year-long filming, director Betts formed a bond with the wannabe Paras.
“Once they like you, they’re engaging and surprising company,” he says. “I’m sure some of them could have been stand-up comedians – though I wouldn’t want to be caught not laughing at their jokes.
“By the end, I thought of them as trained killers with a twinkle in their eye. Terrifying – but quite charming, too.”
Watch The Paras: Men Of War tonight at 9pm on ITV.