by Carlos MARINHO

The Game

The concept of "play" as a form of training is evidenced indirectly through anthropology. Studies of contemporary hunter-gatherer groups show that ludic practices involving physical confrontation are present from childhood. These "games" are not sports in the modern sense, but serve as spaces for body experimentation and preparation for real conflict.

A key example is found in the concept of "Increase Rites" among Australian Aborigines. Ritual dances preceding a hunt are not just preparation; they are a transfiguration of reality. By mimicking the kill, the hunter collapses time; victory is not a future possibility but a reality already claimed in the rite.

This suggests that the "training" of the fight predates formal civilization. Knowledge was transmitted somatically—incorporated into the body and learned through practice. There were no manuals; wisdom was preserved in the group's collective memory, passed down from elders through practical notions of leverage, weight distribution, and balance.

"Play precedes formal training because the body precedes technique. In the absence of codified systems, learning occurred in the ludic space, where risk was managed and physical experience could be repeated. Thus, knowledge was not accumulated in texts, but inscribed in gestures, posture, and collective memory."