Original subtitles

I'm feeling it.

I'm very aware of what I'm about to enter.

This isn't just beating your chest and showing off and showing how alpha male

you are.

This is a vehicle for growing up.

I guess that's the essence of rite of passage, isn't it?

I'm Ed Stafford. As an explorer and survivalist, I've made a career out of

mucking about in the wild.

If I'm honest, I've never really grown up. Look at that!

So now... Ready, guys?

I've set myself a mission to see how cultures across the world navigate the

messy business of becoming an adult.

I believe many of us in the modern world have lost our sense of identity.

But I'm hoping by immersing myself in the often extreme trials that young

face, I can figure out how these rituals make us better members of our

communities.

I've never experienced anything even comparable in terms of pain.

By joining them on their journey, I hope I'll learn to become a better man.

Maybe even grow up. Okay,

he wants me to jump out and we'll jump out.

And successfully pass my own right of passage.

in the far north of China, in Inner Mongolia.

It's wild open country and rough terrain spreading out in all directions.

I'll be travelling to a remote region located in the expansive grasslands of

Xilinguo League, where I'll be spending a week with a Mongol family.

The nomadic Mongols have led a traditional pastoral lifestyle on this

since the time of Genghis Khan.

From what I know about their rite of passage, their training to become a

fearsome Mongol warrior is as much a part of their ancient culture as it is a

rite of passage.

It involves three manly games.

Horse riding.

Archery.

And wrestling.

Skills once essential on the battlefield.

Today, Mongolian men are still expected to excel in these sports to pass their

rite of passage.

At a traditional festival of games called Nadam.

It's all about technique and strength.

And perhaps the truest form of showing that strength is Mongolian wrestling.

With just seven days here, wrestling is what I've chosen to focus on. So

basically, I've got a week of being thrown around and battered and bruised,

which should be fun.

At the end of my stay, my wrestling skills will be put to the test at the

Nardum Festival.

If I can put up a good fight and beat an opponent, I reckon I will have earned

my stripes in this Mongol rite of passage.

This really is in the middle of nowhere.

I can't help but notice that while remote, we aren't far from the comforts

the modern world.

I'll be staying on an isolated farm with Tamil, who is the head of the family

out here on the grassland.

Hello. Oh, Tamil!

Nice to meet you. My name's Ed.

This your son?

Not at all. Hi.

Hi.

Temel invites me to meet the rest of his family in their traditional yurt,

known as a gher in Mongolian.

Since Temel and his family now live in a modern house, the gher now serves as a

comfortable area to socialize.

His family will be hosting me for the following week.

His wife, Dauren Tuya.

His brother, Erden.

His two sons, 23 -year -old Nacho and 13 -year -old Amuri.

How do you make a living here? Is it all from livestock?

And how many animals do you have?

How much of this land around us that we can see is yours?

Wow,

that's a huge amount.

Okay, so pretty much everything we can see is yours.

You might be asking how old you are.

49,

same as me.

Same as me, we're the same age.

Temel's son Nacho is a professional Mongolian wrestling coach and he's

considered a champion of Shilingor League.

And do you think that 49 years old is too old to wrestle?

Would you be able to teach me how to

wrestle?

Good.

I'm a little bit nervous, I have to say.

Before training officially starts, the guys decide to size me up.

Okay, 49 -year -old against 49 -year -old.

You let

me win there. You let me win.

You're a very good host. Thank you.

Good game.

You've got a strong son.

Strong son.

Boyed up by beating a 13 -year -old, it's time to take on the big gun.

Oh my goodness me.

Wow. Okay. You're strong.

You're strong.

Okay, that's quite sobering.

It's clear that I've got some serious catching up to do with my new coach.

Seemingly not one to waste any time, Nacho cracks the whip and starts my

training immediately.

Oh well,

that joke definitely got lost in translation.

When entering the fighting ground, the wrestlers perform a ritual dance to

signify their confidence and readiness to do battle.

With the movement supposed to symbolize powerful animals.

Like a Mongolian.

Okay, it really is quite simple, isn't it?

But I'm moving more like I belong at the bottom of the food chain.

With

the

dance over, each wrestler raises his hand as his name is called.

Nacho and his brother Amuri have already wrestled at Nardum, so this week, it'll

only be me that's really going through a rite of passage. But before I start...

i'll need my gear one of the most important parts of a mongolian

uniform is called a joe dag an open -chested jacket used for

gripping opponents during matches

Okay, the lesson one is all about gripping.

That can't be too hard. Yeah, very easy.

Quite a drunk one.

Basically, I need to seize my opponent's grip points.

And break free when he takes mine.

Nothing seems to be working.

Breaking free from Nacho is just impossible.

Thank you for watching.

Can we stop for half an hour?

Not five seconds, half an hour.

My brain's fried.

Obviously, this is an intensive period of training.

If I don't have time to mentally digest it and physically recover, I'm not going

to advance.

That's my take on it.

I think the thing that's holding me back at the moment, which you're pointing

out very clearly to me, is that...

I'm trying too hard all the time, and then because I'm trying so hard, I'm

exhausting myself within seconds.

Currently, it's day one.

I'm at the very beginning of my journey, but if I was to enter it today,

I wouldn't do well, would I?

This must be one of the toughest rites of passage I'll be faced with. Right

I'm not sure if I could throw anyone at the Nardum Festival.

I need to raise my game, fast.

Felt like the princess and the pea last night.

The guys don't seem to have mattresses here. So I'm on a hard wooden board on

nine blankets, basically.

And yet there was a lump just underneath my chest.

Wrestling this morning.

Joyous.

I knew there'd be a catch.

Outside the gare, Nacho has already set up the gym.

Morning, mate.

Right, I'm looking forward to this. What are we doing?

Okay, great.

Are we headbutting them?

No. No, no, no. Okay.

All right. Good.

Good. Okay. Good.

Good.

All right.

It's already starting to burn.

Are you counting?

I thought you were counting.

It's a lovely way to spend the morning.

142. This is not my usual gym workout, but I can see how it builds the strong

grip needed in Mongolian wrestling.

Not hurting, but it's obviously quite wearing on the arms.

No one likes to show off, you know?

Okay, 200.

Needless to say, I don't do a lot of this in everyday life.

230.

Time to get hard actually.

Okay, that's 400.

99.

500.

Have you ever heard of the concept of recovery with an exercise?

It's okay.

Nacho tells me that we have to spend the day doing farm work instead of doing

any wrestling training.

But to be honest, I'm not sure this is the best use of my time out here.

especially with Nardum quickly approaching.

Cool, let me have a crack at this then.

So you want all the soil that way?

Story of my life, isn't it?

I've noticed that out here they don't really use any farming machinery.

It seems like it's all done by hand.

And I'm starting to think this is all part of Nacho's plan.

Right, where are you at?

Well, the hare notoriously always wins the race, doesn't he?

So Nacho's approach is a bit more slow, a bit more conserving energy.

I could go on all day. It's almost tantric. It's almost tantric.

But yeah, there's such a contrast between his approach to life and mine.

How old were you when you started?

And what would you, I guess, what would you...

like to achieve in your life? What do you aspire to? What would be the

goal for you?

And is that possible, do you think?

Love your confidence, mate.

So I'm being trained by the best.

Therefore, I've got no excuses, have I?

It's fun. It's fun to learn from somebody who's not like you.

That's actually probably where I'm going to grow the most. This is already

beginning to be fascinating just in terms of what I'm going to learn, not

about farming, not just even about wrestling, but about how to approach

For the Mongols out on the grassland, one of the most legendary natural foods,

which is believed to help them keep fighting fit, is a nice big glass of

fermented horse milk, known as irag.

Traditionally, irag is made by Mongolian women in family workshops like this

one, with the Mongol women adding a vital part to their economy this way.

Today, Nasi's eye rag goes beyond family gatherings.

It's also sold in local shops and markets.

Does horse milk therefore cost a lot of money?

I've never really seen a horse's udders before.

And do you put a lot of your

strength? down to drinking horse milk.

I think I might start marketing it in England.

Horse milk for bodybuilders and wrestlers and rugby players.

And we'll share the profits.

This time next year, we'll be millionaires.

No problem.

Excellent.

According to many experts, fermented horse milk really is a great lactose

alternative. It's high in vitamins and minerals and has immune -boosting

compounds to boot.

Once the milk is collected, it's taken straight to the nearby gare to begin

fermentation.

And this in here, this is all fermented, yeah?

Smells sharp.

It's not nice. It's tolerable, I would say. You know, it's the sort of thing

that you wouldn't naturally eat or drink unless it was good for you.

This will be the first time trying fermented horse milk.

Oh, it's got a tang to it.

Would this have been drunk in the time of Genghis Khan?

So

to

really take my wrestling skills up a notch, Nacho takes me to the nearby city

Shilin, Hauteu, to train alongside a group of young semi -pro Mongolian

wrestlers.

I

think

they're the guys who have been selected as young potential professionals.

They should be quite an elite group of wrestlers, then, yeah, it'd be

interesting to see what I can learn from this.

So in terms of level, how do they compare to you?

There's that confidence again.

I bet Nacho would actually make a pretty good lawyer back in England.

After watching for a while...

It's time to quite literally throw myself into action

Okay,

I mean smashed, but he did pick the very best of the entire group. Let's go

up against me.

All right, we've got a smaller guy now. Let's see what I can do.

Looks like my training with Nacho is starting to pay off. I just

hope I'm doing him proud.

I don't think the word rest exists in Mongolian. So the concept of timeout

definitely does not exist in Mongolian.

All right, let's go.

Grass on concrete.

There's no give in this astroturf.

I did see dives at that point, but he's half my size, so I had to get up and

carry on fighting.

Ahead of tomorrow's Nardum, there's one last place Nacho says we should visit

for some spiritual preparation.

Ovu's are cans made out of piles of rocks that serve as both territorial

and ritual altars for the Mongols.

You've brought your wrestling kit up here. This is part of preparation for

nadam?

Nacho's now cleansing literally the wrestling equipment that he's going to

as well, so that everything is pure, everything is ready.

The reason Nacho's brought me up here is to give me an understanding of just how

this ritual isn't something individual. It's not just for...

a wrestler who wants to win tomorrow it's it's tying it into a bigger

significance of an understanding that we're all part of something a lot bigger

you know

For me, this is a less conventional rite of passage. There is no ceremony. He's

not jumping over a bull or putting his hand in gloves full of ants.

However, if you look at what he's learning through doing what he's doing,

know, through aspiring to be the best in his country at wrestling, he is

confronting his own demons. He is learning about responsibility, about

discipline. He's becoming stronger. He's having to mentally be confident and

mature.

All of the same qualities that are nurtured in a person to a rite of

ceremony are also being nurtured in the young wrestlers through their sport.

And maybe it's actually a more translatable thing to Western world

take part in sports. We do take part in physical endurance events.

And maybe they can be used as a kind of rite of passage, as a way of developing

yourself.

I don't think a rite of passage has to be a ceremony.

I don't think, almost, I don't think it has to be a deliberate rite of passage.

If you're going through something which allows you to transition from, for

example, a young, immature, selfish boy into a mature, responsible, community

-orientated man, then that's a rite of passage.

As a traveler through these lands, Paying respects at the Obu is seen as a

sign of respect, one which will hopefully give me safe passage as I

journey.

Thank you.

While I've been lucky to experience the famous Mongol hospitality during my time

here, this is really quite special. It signifies for me

turning a corner.

being accepted to an extent by the family. And Nacho is, you know, softly

at first, but he's warming up now.

It really took me back when Nacho was saying to me, he was like, you're

wearing yourself out. You know, you're trying too hard.

There's no bit of you that's relaxed. You're just on 100 % of the time. And it

was as if he was...

Being a life coach to me rather than a wrestling coach, he couldn't have been

describing better my life, you know.

I've come here to learn about a culture that has a rite of passage for me, but I

do genuinely feel like this is helping me at my time in life.

I turned 50 this year and, you know, I've stopped having kids now, you know.

This is a new chapter in my life, a new phase.

It's extraordinarily relevant to me and it's really...

causing me to address certain parts of my life and consciously evolve through

them, I think, which is exactly what a rite of passage is meant to do.

I want to say thank you to all of you for your support.

Today is finally the big day.

Today is the Nardum.

Because I'm taking part in the NADAM, which is a festival of sports,

I have to wear this traditional garb.

The wrestling's good. I'm good with it.

If I get two rounds, two, for me, that's a win.

For me, that is above, probably, my expectations.

If I don't embarrass Nacho, then that's also a win.

And just as the festival is about to start, the heavens open.

The horses apparently have been spotted, so...

They're 12 kilometres away, they started, which is apparently a 15

And this is the finish line.

There you get four seasons in one day in Mongolia. I'd like to experience some

other seasons right now. Thank you very much. We've done the wet bit.

Look at that, look at that, look at that.

They're all children.

It's ridiculous, isn't it?

Half an hour ago, poofing it down with rain, now glorious sunshine.

Worried about sunburn.

So we've had the horse racing. This is the archery being set up behind me.

As the archery event draws to an end, the wrestling is about to begin.

And in Mongolian wrestling, its winner stays on until a champion is crowned.

many people are wrestling today?

While most people will be watching the men compete, there is also

a junior tournament, which Nacho's brother, Omori, will be vying to win.

I'm here. The sun's out. Might as well enjoy it.

I'm feeling it.

I'm very aware of what I'm about to enter.

Thanks, Tim. I appreciate it, mate.

I'll do you proud, I hope.

Going in.

first with the two experts. This signifies that they're very good.

do wonder about my own mental health.

Crikey.

Here comes the moment of truth.

First round, done.

I'm so relieved that I've proven that I'm not a total failure and can continue

this rite of passage.

It's round two. My name has just been called.

Thank you very much.

May God bless you.

Okay, I don't feel comfortable about that. Are they deliberately giving me

opponents?

This

is

now

round three.

It feels quite surreal to be in this position.

This is actually the quarterfinals.

It's down to the last eight people.

Fingers crossed that I have to wrestle Nacho this round.

Oh, the big lad.

This guy also looks like a bit of a brute, and he's in it to win it.

I just need to relax and not do anything stupid.

You could feel he could have put me down at any moment there.

Thank you.

Got my earnings.

Very good.

600 RMB, which is 60 quid.

So I can get the kids some presents on the way home. That's nice.

I got to round three, which is extraordinary and far beyond what I

going to achieve.

Okay,

so it's the semi -finals.

Nacho's in with a good chance. He's in with a good chance.

He's up against the guy that beat me.

Come on, son.

Yes, he's won.

He's won.

Very cool that we've got two brothers in the final. Murray and Nacho.

You know, you could have two winners.

The Nacho's up against the biggest Mongolian I've ever seen in my life.

Come on, mate. Come on.

Say, I'm Murray's one.

That's cool.

He might be a little shy around me, but clearly he's on track to follow in his

brother's footsteps.

And now we focus on Nacho.

Last thing longer than anyone else's life is against him.

He's doing well.

He's trying to lift him up.

Sorry,

Nacho is on the floor.

And that is the end of a dream for the day.

Never mind.

The beast won.

Well done, mate. Well done. Never mind.

You can tell he's disappointed, isn't he?

I think Nacho really wanted to win that one.

Champion.

Champion. Congratulations.

Cool. I just want to say thank you all for having me today.

You've been an amazing family.

It's been such a privilege to live with you, to train with you, but just to take

part in the whole thing. So thank you very much indeed.

The main thing for me though was what I've learned along the way and the key

thing has been to relax.

You know, going like a bull in the china shop through a fight but also through

life. isn't doing me any favors um and nacho has taught me that i really do

to relax i

think it's definitely something

i've taken to my wider life because it is true i do try too hard and i think

it's all well and good when you're young going a thousand percent all of the

time but as you get older and i am going through my own rite of passage this

year this year i turned 50 and and you can't carry on living like that into

elder years therefore my lesson is relax enjoy enjoy the moment enjoy the

game that is life

It's good.

Lo and behold, I've been entered into the fermented horse milk drinking

competition.

That's

much

harder to drink than you think. And also, my false tooth was like waggling

as I was drinking and dipping down.