We all know why we're here, lads. We trained bloody hard for this all week.
We know our roles. We know the shape we're gonna play.
Every single minute, keep your head in the game.
Every single moment, stay in the moment. Okay?
[players yelling]
[Idris Elba] Playing games is a crucial way to show our strength, our skill,
and ultimately, prove we are worthy of becoming an adult.
But starting early isn't just about getting as much training as possible.
[cheering and yelling]
[uplifting music playing]
[Elba] In all our cultures,
mastering a game also marks the moment we grow from a child to an adult,
a girl into a woman,
a boy into a man.
[yelling]
[Elba] Sometimes, these rites of passage are brutal.
Sometimes, they are dangerous.
But these games set us up for life.
They send us into a world, ready to defend ourselves.
These playgrounds help us learn about our bodies,
our strengths, and our weaknesses.
Birth is a lottery.
We don't get to choose the culture we're born into...
which means we don't get to choose the games we play either.
Here in Madagascar,
every newborn male must one day play a very special game.
One that will shape who he is
and decide his standing in the village.
[beating drum]
[Elba] These people call themselves the Betsileo,
"the invincible ones."
They are gathering to celebrate the start of their annual contest,
a festival of manhood.
The week of celebration begins with a painful procedure
for one of the youngest members of the village.
The man in the white coat is here to circumcise him.
[in Malagasy] Receive all the best, God almighty boy.
You will be successful. God will bless you with good health.
[speaking indistinctly]
[child screaming]
[crowd chanting]
[chanting]
[singing in Malagasy]
[Elba, in English] To mark his coming of age,
the boy's grandfather eats the foreskin
with the aid of a banana.
With the ceremony over, the real games can begin.
Today these young men will undertake the ultimate rite of passage.
Mbola is warming up to face his fears in a game of Savika,
a deadly mix of a bull fight and a rodeo.
[player, in Malagasy] Help him...
Don't leave him alone like that.
[Mbola] It's dangerous.
Here are the results of Savika.
And on my leg.
[atmospheric music playing]
If it's not your day and you play, you can die.
[medicine man] During the game, be good, keep calm.
Make sure that bulls with bad intentions cannot enter this field.
[Elba, in English] The medicine man places a spell
at the entrance of the playground.
Magic rituals are a big part of the game, and the young men drink potions
to protect themselves from evil demons and witchcraft.
[crowd chanting]
[Mbola, in Malagasy] I am famous in the field of Savika
and many do not like me for that.
Some people know how to perform witchcraft and I'm afraid of being targeted.
I do not practice witchcraft.
It's the only thing that scares me besides the Savika itself.
[percussive music playing]
[Elba, in English] It's simple, really.
Whichever young fighter holds onto the bull's hump the longest
has the best chance of winning and finding the prettiest wife.
It sounds pretty old-fashioned,
but on the flip side,
it's the women who are in charge while the men risk their lives.
[ominous music playing]
[Elba] Clinging onto a wild bull until it surrenders
is much easier said than done.
Many Betsileo boys have died right there in the bull pit.
[ominous music rising]
[Mbola, in Malagasy] My heart does not stop beating
seeing the zebu.
Maybe my heart will behave differently when I get older.
- [indistinct chatter] - [moans in pain]
[indistinct chatter]
[crowd cheering]
[Elba, in English] In the chaos of the bullfight,
Mbola has found the moment he's been waiting for.
This is his chance to grab the bull.
The next couple of seconds are dangerous as he dances a deadly dance
with the mighty zebu.
In this game, only one of them can win.
[bull grunting]
[Elba] Fortunately, Mbola tamed the bull
and came out unharmed.
He has survived his rite of passage,
and he isn't short of admirers.
Mbola can now call himself a man.
[in Malagasy] I hope that my offspring will play Savika like me.
I would like them to follow in my footsteps.
[Elba, in English] In many cultures, overcoming fear,
showing strength and skill,
are all ways of proving you are worthy of being taken seriously as an adult.
To grow into skilled adults with great abilities,
some cultures believe they must separate children from their parents.
[children yelling]
For them, this is the only way to learn the skills they need for adulthood.
[children yelling]
[child yelling]
[group yelling]
[Elba] Deep in the heart of China lies the Shaolin Monastery,
the cradle of Shaolin kung fu.
Here, over 27,000 children
study this martial art for ten months a year.
It's a way to improve
their physical and mental strength and learn discipline.
Which is why it's mainly the naughty ones who end up here.
[yelling]
[instructor, in Mandarin] I've been teaching for over 11 years.
To carry kung fu forward and let the world know about it.
[bang]
Close the door. Don't come in. Go out.
[boy] I need to go to the class.
Go from the other side.
And tell the rest not to come out this way.
[door closes]
Come back.
[yelling]
[instructor] Good. Keep your breath.
One, two, three.
Look at me.
When you finish that action, the look in your eyes
and this move.
Watch where to put your hands.
Look at my arms. Tighten up.
And when you move your feet, do it at once and fast.
Then step forward.
Shaolin kung fu,
it's the most intense form of martial arts combat.
They should have a sense of perseverance.
They shouldn't be afraid of hardship and fatigue.
Kung fu is hard and comes from life.
Learning it is a very difficult and demanding journey.
[yelling]
[continues yelling]
[atmospheric music playing]
[yelling]
[Elba, in English] Bruce Lee once said that kung fu
is the art of becoming shapeless like water.
Water in a cup becomes the cup.
Water in a teapot becomes the teapot.
Water can flow or it can crash.
Be like water.
At this highly advanced level, the students work under a strict regime.
It's not just about being physically tough.
You have to be mentally strong too.
[yells]
[Elba] Some kids enter the school when they are just five years old.
[applauding rhythmically]
[Elba] This is Gao.
He has lived here longer than he has lived at home with his parents.
He is now 11 years old.
[Gao, in Mandarin] When I was five, I was too naughty at home.
They said that they would send me here.
I thought they were kidding, but then they really did.
[Gao's mother over phone] Hello.
Can you hear me?
How are you doing?
[Gao] Hmm.
It's fine.
Fine?
You must work harder in both literacy class and martial arts.
Work very hard, understand?
Yes, I got it.
Okay, fine.
You need to eat more. You need it to grow up.
If you don't eat enough, you will grow slowly.
Your training needs physical strength.
Don't be picky, and eat whatever they give you.
You're growing.
[Gao] Okay.
- Understood? - Okay.
- Bye-bye. - Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
[phone beeps]
[reflective music playing]
[Elba, in English] Today, Gao is about to take part
in the most important event of the year.
A performance for the headmaster and government staff.
He's trained for months,
and his grades depend on it.
If he performs well, his parents and his teachers will be proud.
Failure is not an option.
[traditional music playing]
[yelling]
[percussive music plays]
[yelling]
[Elba] Gao excelled today.
His mother can be proud.
He stood out as one of the most skilled students of the academy.
[yelling]
[Elba] But this playground isn't about cultivating individual talents.
It's about becoming part of a larger whole.
When these boys grow up,
they will enter the world knowing discipline,
focus,
and commitment.
They are small cogs in a big machine,
each playing a part.
It's a transformation on a massive scale,
one that helps China run with amazing efficiency.
Across the ocean in Japan,
martial arts are also used as an ancient rite of passage.
But the end goal couldn't be more different.
[woman, in Japanese] Have a meal, guys!
[child] The biggest one is for Hayato.
[Elba, in English] Just like in China,
these boys enter a strict training regime when they're very young.
But instead of honing their balance, speed, and agility,
sumo is about brute physical strength.
The bigger you are, the better.
[in Japanese] For breakfast, I eat rice.
For lunch,
well,
I often eat rice.
I think I might eat a bit more than other children eat.
[Elba, in English] This is Hayato.
He's prepping for class at the heya,
a prestigious sumo training stable.
Young boys arrive here to be turned into men.
For well over a thousand years, schools like this one
have created rikishis,
professional sumo wrestlers.
This rite of passage is so old,
nobody questions it.
[yelling]
[Elba] It's every generation's responsibility to keep it alive.
[grunting]
[Elba] Tomorrow, Hayato takes part in Japan's biggest junior sumo event,
a crucial moment in his development.
[speaking Japanese]
[Elba] Today is his last chance to train.
[grunting]
[speaking indistinctly in Japanese]
[panting, speaks Japanese]
[indistinct]
[cries]
[sobbing]
[Elba] As games go,
it looks anything but fun.
But the students must find their inner and outer strength.
Only then will they prove to their teachers
that they have what it takes to be sumo men.
[Hayato, in Japanese] During sumo training if my coaches scold me,
or they are very strict with me,
I sometimes feel like quitting.
But the reason why I still play is because my family will be pleased
if I win a match.
[instructing in Japanese]
[Hayato] Sumo has a long history,
but I don't know it very well.
The reason why I started
was because my grandfather told me to try this.
Well, this is the one he won last year,
in Heisei, 29th July.
[children chattering indistinctly]
[indistinct chatter]
[Elba, in English] The 54 professional sumo stables go to great lengths
to recruit these overweight teenagers.
The fighters prepare meals that are jammed with calories.
The life expectancy of a professional sumo wrestler
is ten years shorter than the average Japanese man.
[reflective music playing]
Diabetes, heart attacks, and injuries are the result of deliberate obesity.
Despite this, sumo is still seen as the ultimate game
for a traditional Japanese upbringing.
The big day has finally come.
The most talented sumo boys from all over Japan
are coming to the Wanpaku tournament
to go head-to-head.
Scouts from all the major sumo stables are present.
[announcer speaking in Japanese]
[in Japanese]
[announcers' voices overlapping]
[children yelling]
[Elba, in English] The boys are divided by age,
not by weight classes.
This means your opponent can turn out to be someone double your size.
In this game, it's go big or go home.
[crowd cheering]
[percussive music playing]
[cheering]
[applause]
[crowd reacts]
[yells]
[crowd reacts]
[Elba] Sometimes, it only takes a few seconds
for the young boys' dreams to be shattered.
[crowd reacts]
[Elba] Hayato is on a winning streak.
If he wins the next fight,
he'll be in the finals,
which means he'll secure a place
in one of Tokyo's top sumo teams.
[announcer speaking in Japanese]
[tense music playing]
[crowd reacts]
[Elba] These boys don't have a choice.
They're told this game is their destiny,
and they must act with honor whether they win or lose.
Hayato has to train and eat for another year
before he'll be the big, strong man that society here celebrates.
For him, sumo is not just a game.
It's his ikigai,
his reason for being.
It's all he knows.
And to succeed, he must face his fears and fight on.
[reflective music playing]
[Elba] Parents have used games to help their children overcome fear
since the dawn of time.
In the north of Finland, on Lake Inari,
a father and his sons are on their way to feed the animals
that play a starring role in this next playground.
Marco and his sons descend from the earliest settlers
in this icy northernmost part of Europe.
They're called the Sámi.
These people have lived in this harsh climate
for thousands of years,
surviving with the help of reindeer.
No one can remember quite how it happened, but almost as soon as they tamed them,
they created the ultimate game.
Reindeer racing.
[Pekka's father, in Finnish] Winter is my favorite season.
Of course, that's because of reindeer racing.
It's somehow such a liberating feeling when you ride with the reindeer.
It's amazing.
When you can control a half-wild animal in the field.
[evocative music playing]
[Elba, in English] The Sámi survived here by drinking the reindeer's milk,
clothing themselves with the fur,
and feeding on the meat.
Their entire lives are based on their relationship
with this magnificent beast.
And the skills and knowledge need to be passed down the generations,
especially when it comes to racing them.
[Pekka's father, in Finnish] I hope that my sons are left with the same feeling...
towards the reindeer.
It's still a little bit too wild.
Always when you go to feed it, it's running around this tree.
Just like the black-eared one.
They are sensitive animals and very unpredictable.
You have to be calm when you start...
to play with them.
But after my first try, I knew I wanted to do reindeer racing.
I want to be as good as my dad.
[Elba, in English] Proving you can handle a reindeer
is the only rite of passage for young adults around here.
Tomorrow, Pekka will take part in his first reindeer race.
[Pekka's father, in Finnish] Tomorrow, we'll race in this year's only race.
Are you nervous?
Yes, a little bit.
[Pekka's father] I was nervous
when I first started.
I think we have the same start.
We'll get to go against each other.
[evocative music playing]
[Elba, in English] Sámi from all corners of the North
have traveled long distances
with their reindeers to gather here to race.
[father, in Finnish] It's important that there is one sport that unites...
the reindeer shepherds together.
It is important that the tradition is kept.
Next time, you should eat more bread.
Let's raise these a little bit too.
[announcer] First race begins soon.
The reindeer are in their cages now.
[Pekka's father] The reindeer is the main character.
The reindeer has the natural instinct to complete.
The reindeer rider is there mostly to enjoy.
[Elba, in English] It's time for father and son to race side-by-side.
Two generations ready to hold on tight
and enjoy the ride.
[in Finnish] Drive!
[exciting music playing]
[Elba, in English] It takes balance, strength, and skill to stay on your feet.
And Pekka is hoping to impress his father with his performance.
[exciting music continues]
[Elba] Pekka has won the race.
The younger generation beats the older.
[Pekka, in Finnish] It really didn't want to go next to the reindeer.
Jumped there between the ropes at the start.
It went well.
[Elba, in English] Pekka's fate was to live with reindeer.
He has now proved that he can master this awesome animal.
He has come of age.
[Pekka's father, in Finnish] Now it's only 30 years of this for you.
Or more like me.
The best thing that a man can do with pants on.
[Elba, in English] Pekka is lucky.
His rite of passage not only keeps his heritage alive,
it helps him bond with his dad, who is there by his side the whole time.
[reflective music playing]
[Elba] Many kids don't get a choice.
Their rite of passage is laid out for them the moment they're born.
Their only option is to tread their path the best they can,
hope they can find strength,
conquer fear, please the older generation,
find love or adulation.
Most of us, however, must find our own rite of passage.
Modern life doesn't give us a clear path.
We need to seek our own obstacles,
face different fears,
find ways to make ourselves stronger.
What's certain is if we want to grow
to the best version of ourselves,
testing our limits is the best way to do it.
[closing theme music playing]