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00:03I'm feeling it.
00:05I'm very aware of what I'm about to enter.
00:11This isn't just beating your chest and showing off
00:13and showing how alpha male you are.
00:16This is a vehicle for growing up.
00:25I guess that's the essence of rite of passage, isn't it?
00:32I'm Ed Stafford.
00:33As an explorer and survivalist,
00:36I've made a career out of mucking about in the wild.
00:40If I'm honest, I've never really grown up.
00:42Look at that!
00:43So now...
00:46Ready, guys?
00:48I've set myself a mission
00:51to see how cultures across the world
00:54navigate the messy business
00:56of becoming an adult.
01:00I believe many of us in the modern world
01:03have lost our sense of identity.
01:05But I'm hoping by immersing myself
01:07in the often extreme trials that young people face,
01:11I can figure out how these rituals
01:13make us better members of our communities.
01:17I've never experienced anything even comparable
01:19in terms of pain.
01:22By joining them on their journey,
01:24I hope I'll learn to become a better man.
01:26Yeah, I wish to roll with the Eric's birth noise.
01:29Maybe even grow up.
01:31It's very honest!
01:32Okay, he wants me to jump in on the journey now.
01:33And successfully pass my own rite of passage.
01:58I'm in the far north of China, in inner Mongolia.
02:04It's wild open country and rough terrain
02:07spreading out in all directions.
02:10I'll be travelling to a remote region
02:12located in the expansive grasslands
02:14of Shilingor League.
02:17Where I'll be spending a week with a Mongol family.
02:22The nomadic Mongols have led a traditional pastoral lifestyle
02:26on this grassland since the time of Genghis Khan.
02:32From what I know about their rite of passage,
02:35their training to become a fearsome Mongol warrior
02:38is as much a part of their ancient culture
02:40as it is a rite of passage.
02:42It involves three manly games.
02:45Horse riding,
02:48archery,
02:50and wrestling.
02:53Skills once essential on the battlefield.
02:58Today, Mongolian men are still expected to excel
03:01in these sports to pass their rite of passage
03:03at a traditional festival of games called Nadam.
03:09It's all about technique and strength.
03:11And perhaps the truest form of showing that strength
03:14is Mongolian wrestling.
03:17With just seven days here,
03:19wrestling is what I've chosen to focus on.
03:21So basically, I've got a week of being thrown around
03:23and battered and bruised.
03:25Which should be fun.
03:30I've got a week of being thrown around.
03:31At the end of my stay,
03:32my wrestling skills will be put to the test
03:34at the local Nadam festival.
03:36If I can put up a good fight and beat an opponent,
03:39I reckon I will have burnt my stripes
03:41in this Mongol rite of passage.
03:46This really is in the middle of nowhere.
03:51I can't help but notice that while remote,
03:55we aren't far from the comforts of the modern world.
04:06I'll be staying on an isolated farm with Temel,
04:09who is the head of the family out here on the grassland.
04:12Hello.
04:14Nice to meet you.
04:15My name's Ed.
04:16Is this your son?
04:22Hi.
04:27Hi.
04:30Temel invites me to meet the rest of his family
04:33in their traditional yurt, known as a ger in Mongolian.
04:37Since Temel and his family now live in a modern house,
04:39the ger now serves as a comfortable area to socialise.
04:43This is beautiful.
04:44His family will be hosting me for the following week.
04:47His wife, Daoren Tuya.
04:50His brother, Erdin.
04:52His two sons, 23-year-old Nacho
04:55and 13-year-old Amuri.
05:14Homemade milk tea.
05:18I'm going to try this.
05:25That's good.
05:26And how do you make a living here?
05:28Is it all from livestock?
05:31Yeah.
05:32And how many animals do you have?
05:39How much of this land around us that we can see is yours?
05:47Wow, that's a huge amount.
05:49OK, so pretty much everything we can see is yours.
05:53Do you mind me asking how old you are?
05:5749, that's the same as me.
05:58We're the same as me.
05:59We're the same as me.
06:02Temel's son, Nacho, is a professional Mongolian wrestling coach
06:05and he's considered a champion of Xilinqor League.
06:08And do you think that 49 years old is too old to wrestle?
06:17Would you be able to teach me how to wrestle?
06:20How to wrestle?
06:28Good.
06:29I'm a little bit nervous, I have to say.
06:34Before training officially starts, the guys decide to size me up.
06:38OK, 49-year-old against 49-year-old.
06:40Can we switch?
06:43One, three, two, one.
06:52You let me win there, you let me win.
06:55You're a very good host, thank you.
06:59Come on, mate.
07:01Come on, mate, let's do it.
07:04Go!
07:12Good game.
07:14You've got a strong son.
07:15Strong son.
07:17Boyed up by beating a 13-year-old,
07:20it's time to take on the big gun.
07:22One, three, two, one.
07:25Oh my goodness, mate.
07:28Wow.
07:29OK, you're strong.
07:31You're strong.
07:33OK, that's quite sobering.
07:36It's clear that I've got some serious catching up to do with my new coach.
07:43Seemingly not one to waste any time, Nacho cracks the whip and starts my training immediately.
07:59Butler.
08:01Butter.
08:01Butter.
08:03Butter.
08:04Butter.
08:05Butter.
08:05Thank you, mate.
08:06I appreciate that.
08:07Butter.
08:08I'm going to get battered, aren't I?
08:10Oh.
08:10Oh, well.
08:12That joke definitely got lost in translation.
08:15When entering the fighting ground, the wrestlers perform a ring,
08:18ritual dance to signify their confidence and readiness to do battle.
08:26With the movement supposed to symbolise powerful animals.
08:29You run in like a Mongolian.
08:37OK, it really is quite simple, isn't it?
08:40But I'm moving more like I belong at the bottom of the food chain.
08:53With the dance over, each wrestler raises his hand as his name is called.
09:01Butter.
09:05Butter.
09:08Butter.
09:09Butter.
09:10Butter.
09:10Butter.
09:13Butter.
09:14Butter.
09:19Nacho and his brother, Umuri, have already wrestled at Nardom.
09:22So this week, it'll only be me that's really going through a rite of passage.
09:26But before I start, I'll need my gear.
09:30One of the most important parts of a Mongolian wrestler's uniform is called a jodag.
09:37An open-chested jacket used for gripping opponents during matches.
09:42I think that I'm going to work on the nardom is called a 19th century.
10:00So I started to figure out the country who used for a very little full.
10:01Like this.
10:02How was it going through?
10:03I think it's like a deep approach to such a weird Rahmen.
10:06So I think the people in the next day would have to do this.
10:08You know what it is like, or you know what it is like.
10:11You know how to perform.
10:13OK, so lesson one is all about gripping.
10:19That can't be too hard.
10:21Yeah, it's very easy.
10:23I'm going to put my eyes on the right side.
10:33Basically, I need to seize my opponent's grip points.
10:43And break free when he takes mine.
10:49Nothing seems to be working.
10:53Breaking free from Nacho is just impossible.
10:59I'm not scared.
11:06I'm a big fan of the pig.
11:09Look, I'm very scared.
11:09I'm big.
11:10I'm not scared when we go and get worse.
11:15You need to come and play too.
11:23Let's move on.
11:58Can we stop for half an hour?
12:00Not five seconds, half an hour.
12:03My brain's fried.
12:05Obviously, this is an intensive period of training.
12:09If I don't have time to mentally digest it and physically recover,
12:12I'm not going to advance.
12:13That's my take on it.
12:18I think the thing that's holding me back at the moment,
12:21which you're pointing out very clearly to me,
12:24is that I'm trying too hard all the time.
12:26And then because I'm trying so hard,
12:29I'm exhausting myself within seconds.
12:32Currently, it's day one.
12:34I'm at the very beginning of my journey.
12:36But if I was to enter it today,
12:41I wouldn't do well, would I?
12:43I'm not going to do well.
12:47I'm not going to do well.
12:52This must be one of the toughest rites of passage I'll be faced with.
12:56Right now, I'm not sure if I could throw anyone at the Nardum festival.
13:00I need to raise my game fast.
13:10I felt like the princess and the pea last night.
13:15The guys don't seem to have mattresses here.
13:18So I'm on a hard wooden board on nine blankets, basically.
13:22And yet there was a lump just underneath my chest.
13:28Wrestling this morning.
13:32I knew there'd be a catch.
13:35Outside the gear, Nacho has already set up the gym.
13:39Morning, mate.
13:40Right, I'm looking forward to this.
13:42What are we doing?
13:43OK, bricks.
13:45Are we head-butting them?
13:47No.
13:47No, no, no.
13:48OK, all right, OK.
13:49Good.
13:50OK?
13:50Good.
13:51OK.
14:01All right, it's already starting to burn.
14:04Are you counting?
14:07I thought you were counting.
14:09So now, let's start from the first one.
14:14This is a lovely way to spend the morning.
14:17142.
14:18This is not my usual gym workout,
14:21but I can see how it builds the strong grip needed in Mongolian wrestling.
14:25It's not hurting, but it's obviously quite wearing on the arms.
14:36No one likes a show-off, you know?
14:40OK, that's 200.
14:43Needless to say, I don't do a lot of this in everyday life.
14:47230.
14:48300.
14:49It's starting to get hard, actually.
14:50OK, that's 400.
15:03500.
15:12Have you ever heard of the concept of recovery with an exercise?
15:21It's OK.
15:31Nacho tells me that we have to spend the day doing farm work
15:35instead of doing any wrestling training.
15:37But to be honest, I'm not sure this is the best use of my time out here,
15:42especially with Nardom quickly approaching.
15:49Cool.
15:50Let me have a crack at this.
16:16I've noticed that out here they don't really use any farming machinery.
16:21It seems like it's all done by hand.
16:24And I'm starting to think this is all part of Nacho's plan.
16:28All right, what do you want?
16:36Well, the hair notoriously always wins the race, doesn't it?
16:42So Nacho's approach is a bit more slow, a bit more conserving energy.
16:46Maybe I could go on all day.
16:49It's almost tantric.
16:50It's almost tantric.
16:57But, yeah, there's a set of constructs between his approach to life and mine.
17:04How old were you when he started?
17:32And what would you...
17:35I guess, what would you like to achieve in your life?
17:38What do you aspire to?
17:39What would be the ultimate goal for you?
17:49And is that possible, do you think?
17:57Love your confidence, mate.
18:03So I'm being trained by the best.
18:05Therefore, I've got no excuses, have I?
18:07It's fun.
18:08It's fun to learn from somebody who's not like you.
18:11That's actually probably where I'm going to grow the most.
18:14This is already beginning to be fascinating
18:16just in terms of what I'm going to learn,
18:18not just about farming, not just even about wrestling,
18:20but about how to approach life.
18:25For the Mongols out on the grassland,
18:28one of the most legendary natural foods,
18:30which is believed to help them keep fighting fit,
18:33is a nice big glass of fermented horse milk known as IRAG.
18:42Traditionally, IRAG is made by Mongolian women
18:45in family workshops like this one,
18:47with the Mongol women adding a vital part to their economy this way.
18:54Today, Narsu's IRAG goes beyond family gatherings.
18:57It's also sold in local shops and markets.
19:03Does the horse milk, therefore, cost a lot of money?
19:21Do you put a lot of your strength down to drinking horse milk?
19:39I think I might start marketing it in England.
19:43Horse milk for bodybuilders and wrestlers and rugby players.
19:50And then we'll share the profits.
19:52This time next year, we'll be millionaires.
19:59No problem.
20:01Yes.
20:02Excellent.
20:05According to many experts,
20:07fermented horse milk really is a great lactose alternative.
20:11It's high in vitamins and minerals
20:13and has immune-boosting compounds to boot.
20:16Once the milk is collected,
20:17it's taken straight to the nearby Gare to begin fermentation.
20:21Good.
20:23And this in here, this is all fermented, yeah?
20:26It smells sharp.
20:29It's not nice.
20:30It's tolerable, I would say.
20:32You know, it's the sort of thing
20:33that you wouldn't naturally eat or drink
20:37unless it was good for you.
20:44This will be the first time trying fermented horse milk.
20:50Oh, it's got a tang to it.
20:58Would this have been drunk in the town of Genghis Khan?
21:01Yes.
21:01Yeah.
21:03It's been a long time.
21:04It's been a long time.
21:06It's been a long time.
21:07Uh-huh.
21:17So to really take my wrestling skills up a notch,
21:20Nacho takes me to the nearby city of Xilin Haotu
21:23to train alongside a group of young, semi-pro Mongolian wrestlers.
21:28Up!
21:38I think they're the guys who have been selected
21:40as young, potential professionals.
21:45They should be quite an elite group of wrestlers,
21:48and yeah, it'd be interesting to see what I can learn from this.
21:51So in terms of level, how do they compare to you?
22:00There's that confidence again.
22:02I bet Nacho would actually make a pretty good lawyer back in England.
22:07Literally just smashed him on the ground so easy.
22:11Very good.
22:12After watching for a while,
22:15it's time to quite literally throw myself into action.
22:18Just kidding, man.
22:20Take me, take me, take me, take me.
22:31Take me, take me, take me.
22:38Take me, take me.
22:39I'm going to keep going.
22:41I still want to use the guard.
22:45Take me.
22:45Take me.
22:49OK, I mean smashed, but he did pick the very best of the entire group.
22:56Let's go up against me.
23:00All right, we've got a smaller guy now. Let's see what I can do.
23:17Looks like my training with Nacho is starting to pay off.
23:23I just hope I'm doing him proud.
23:27So I don't think the word rest exists in Mongolian.
23:30So the concept of time out definitely does not exist in Mongolian.
23:33I'm ready.
23:34I'm ready.
23:36Loud and clear.
23:38All right, let's go.
23:59Grass on concrete.
24:02There's no give in this astroturf.
24:05I did see stars at that point.
24:08But he's half my size, so I had to get up and carry on fighting.
24:15Yes, yes, yes.
24:22Ahead of tomorrow's Nadim, there's one last place Nacho says we should visit for some spiritual preparation.
24:50No, no, no.
24:56Ovus are cairns made out of piles of rocks that serve as both territorial markers and
25:02ritual altars for the Mongols.
25:10You've brought your wrestling kit up here.
25:12This is a part of preparation for the Nadam?
25:28Nacho is now cleansing literally the wrestling equipment that he's going to use as well,
25:33so that everything is pure, everything is ready.
25:40The reason Nacho has brought me up here is to give me an understanding of just how this
25:45ritual isn't something individual.
25:47It's not just for a wrestler who wants to win tomorrow.
25:51It's tying it into a bigger significance of an understanding that we're all part of something
25:57a lot bigger, you know?
26:15For me this is a less conventional rite of passage, there is no ceremony, he's not jumping
26:19over a bull or putting his hand in gloves full of ants.
26:21However, if you look at what he's learning through doing what he's doing, you know, through
26:27aspiring to be the best in his country at wrestling, he is confronting his own demons.
26:33He is learning about responsibility, about discipline.
26:36He's becoming stronger.
26:38He's having to mentally be confident and mature.
26:42He's all of the same qualities that are nurtured in a person through a rite of passage ceremony
26:46are also being nurtured in the young wrestlers through their sport.
26:50And maybe it's actually a more translatable thing to Western world because we do take part
26:55in sports.
26:56We do take part in physical endurance events.
26:59And maybe they can be used as a kind of rite of passage as a way of developing yourself.
27:15I don't think a rite of passage has to be a ceremony.
27:18I don't think, almost, I don't think it has to be a deliberate rite of passage.
27:21If you're going through something which allows you to transition from, for example, a young,
27:27immature, selfish boy into a mature, responsible, community-orientated man, then that's a rite
27:33of passage.
27:35As a traveler through these lands, paying respects at the Ovu is seen as a huge sign of respect,
27:41one which will hopefully give me safe passage as I continue my journey.
28:09Oh, it's even got my name on it.
28:11Look at that.
28:23While I've been lucky to experience the famous Mongol hospitality during my time here, this
28:31is really quite special.
28:32Well, it signifies for me turning a corner, being accepted to an extent by the family
28:39and Nacho is, you know, softly spoken at first, but he's warming up now.
28:45It really took me back when Nacho was saying to me, he was like, you're wearing yourself
28:53out.
28:53You know, you're trying too hard.
28:55You're, you, there's no bit of you that's relaxed.
28:59You're just on a hundred percent of the time.
29:01And it was as if he was being a life coach to me rather than a wrestling coach.
29:07He, he couldn't have been describing better my life.
29:11You know, if I've come here to learn about a culture that has a rite of passage ceremony,
29:16but I do genuinely feel like this is helping me at my time in life.
29:20I turned 50 this year and, you know, I've stopped having kids now.
29:24You know, this is, this is a new chapter in my life, a new phase.
29:29It's extraordinarily relevant to me.
29:31And it's, it's really causing me to address certain parts of my life and, and consciously
29:39evolve through them, I think, which is exactly what a rite of passage is meant to do.
29:45One, two, three, ten, ten, ten.
29:50One, two, ten.
29:55You see, it'santa.
29:56One here in the defeat of the night I'm going to, nobody,
30:00Three, ten, ten.
30:03Three, nine.
30:05One, one.
30:05Two, ten.
30:06One, one.
30:06One.
30:08Two, ten.
30:09One, two, ten.
30:11One, two, ten.
30:11One, eight.
30:15I don't know.
30:28I don't know.
30:59I don't know.
31:00So because I'm taking part in the Nadam, which is a festival of sports, basically, I have
31:04to wear the traditional garb.
31:08The wrestling's good.
31:10I'm good with it.
31:10Yeah.
31:11If I get to round two, for me, that's a win.
31:14For me, that is above, probably, my expectations.
31:20If I don't embarrass Nacho, then that's also a win.
31:29And just as the festival is about to start, the heavens open.
31:41The horses apparently have been spotted, so they're 12 kilometres away they started,
31:46which is apparently a 15-minute run.
31:48And this is the finish line.
31:51So you get four seasons in one day in Mongolia.
31:55I'd like to experience some other seasons right now.
31:57Thank you very much.
31:58We've done the wet bit.
32:00Look at that.
32:01Look at that.
32:01Look at that.
32:02Look at that.
32:04They're all children.
32:11It's ridiculous, isn't it?
32:13Half an hour ago, hoofing it down with rain.
32:16Now glorious sunshine.
32:18Worried about sunburn.
32:21So we've had the horse racing.
32:23This is the archery being set up behind me.
32:53What?
33:03As the archery event draws to an end, the wrestling is about to begin.
33:09And in Mongolian wrestling, its winner stays on until a champion is crowned.
33:14How many people are wrestling today?
33:21While most people will be watching the men compete, there is also a junior tournament,
33:26which Nacho's brother, Amori, will be vying to win.
33:30I'm here.
33:31The sun's out.
33:32Might as well enjoy it.
33:42I'm feeling it.
33:43I'm very aware of what I'm about to enter.
34:04Thanks, Timo.
34:05Appreciate it, mate.
34:06I'll do you proud.
34:07I hope.
34:08Going in first with the two experts.
34:12This signifies that they're very good.
34:14Sometimes I do wonder about my own mental health.
34:19Crikey.
34:27I'm feeling it.
34:27What do you think?
34:28I pray.
34:36I'm feeling it.
34:44I'm feeling it.
34:45I'm feeling it.
34:47I'm feeling it.
34:48I can't pull off the boat, but the whole thing is not true, but the whole thing is not true.
34:57Here comes the moment of truth.
35:02Here comes the moment of truth.
35:16Here comes the moment of truth.
35:31Here comes the moment of truth.
35:33I'm in round two.
35:34First round, done.
35:37I'm so relieved that I've proven that I'm not a total failure and can continue this rite of passage.
35:51It's round two, my name's just been called.
36:02Here comes the moment of truth.
36:05Here comes the moment of truth.
36:06Here comes the moment of truth.
36:16Here comes the moment of truth.
36:20Here comes the moment of truth.
36:23Here comes the moment of truth.
36:39Here comes the moment of truth.
36:39Okay, sorry to not feel comfortable about that.
36:42Are they deliberately giving me easy opponents?
36:45Here comes the moment of truth.
37:27Here comes the moment of truth.
37:31Here comes the moment of truth.
37:33Here comes the moment of truth.
37:42I just need to relax and not do anything stupid.
38:02You could feel he could have put me down at any moment there.
38:10I've got my earnings.
38:15I'm very good.
38:16600 RMB, which is 60 quid.
38:19So I can get the kids some presents on the way home.
38:21That's nice.
38:23I got to round three, which is extraordinary
38:25and far beyond what I thought I was going to achieve.
38:29I'm going to have two wins.
38:31I have to do it.
38:37I've got three wins.
38:38I have a huge win.
38:39I've got a lot of wins.
38:45OK, so it's the semifinals. Nacho's in with a good chance.
38:49He's in with a good chance.
38:51He's up against the guy that beat me.
39:02Come on, son.
39:09Yes, he's won. He's won.
39:16Very cool that we've got two brothers in the final,
39:18Murray and Nacho.
39:20You know, could have two winners.
39:31But Nacho's up against the biggest Mongolian
39:34I've ever seen in my life.
39:40Come on, mate, come on.
39:41Come on, come on, come on, come on.
39:46Come on, come on, come on.
39:49Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.
39:49So, yeah, Murray's won.
39:52That's cool.
39:53He might be a little shy around me,
39:55but clearly he's on track to follow in his brother's footsteps.
39:58And now we can focus on Nacho.
40:03He's lasting longer than anyone else has lasted against him.
40:07He's doing well.
40:10He's trying to lift him up.
40:13Cool.
40:18Oh, oh, he's gone.
40:24Sorry, Nacho is on the floor.
40:27And that is the end of it.
40:30A dream for the day.
40:32Never mind.
40:32The beast won.
40:36The beast won.
40:37Well done, mate.
40:38Well done.
40:39Never mind.
40:42Get out, he's disappointed, isn't he?
40:48I think Nacho really wanted to win that one.
41:01Champion.
41:03Champion time.
41:05Congratulations.
41:09Cool.
41:10I just want to say thank you all.
41:11I mean, for having me to stay.
41:13You've been an amazing family.
41:14It's been such a privilege to live with you,
41:17to train with you, but just to take part in the whole thing.
41:20So, thank you very much indeed.
41:22No problem.
41:47Thank you, guys.
41:51The main thing for me, though, was what I've learnt along the way,
41:54and the key thing has been to relax, you know?
41:57Going like a bull in the china shop through a fight,
41:59but also through life, isn't doing me any favours.
42:03And Nacho has taught me that I really do need to relax.
42:17I think it's definitely something I'll take into my wider life,
42:19because it is true.
42:20I do try too hard, and I think it's all well and good when you're young,
42:26going a thousand percent all of the time.
42:29But as you get older, and I am going through my own rite of passage this year,
42:33this year I turned 50,
42:34and you can't carry on living like that into your elder years.
42:38Therefore, my lesson is relax, enjoy the moment, enjoy the game that is live.
43:00I've been entered into the fermented horse milk drinking competition.
43:14And I was like, my false tooth was, like, waggling down as I was drinking and dipping down.
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