kwargs is not a built in name--it's a made up name used in the docs. Would you expect this function to work:
def somefunc(x=10, y=20): print a The best way to figure out a feature of a programming language that you don't understand is not in the middle of some complex program. Instead, you should begin a new program, or if you are smart you will already have several blank programs already created waiting in the wings for testing purposes. In the new program, you can play around with functions, default values and catch all parameters like *a and **b to figure out how they work. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list