Detroit dojo teaches physical and mental strength in new documentary

Jason Wilson’s Cave of Adullam Transformational Training Academy is the subject of an ESPN documentary debuting this weekend.

promotional poster for The Cave of Adullam from ESPN Films

Not too far from WDET’s studios, there’s a dojo where young Detroiters are learning to be strong not only physically, but mentally.

That’s the vision that martial arts instructor Jason Wilson had nearly 20 years ago when he started The Cave of Adullam Transformational Training Academy.

A clip of Jason mentoring a young student went viral a few years ago, and it caught the attention of documentary filmmakers. The result is a documentary called The Cave of Adullam produced by actor Laurence Fishburne. The film will debut on ESPN on Sunday, Oct. 16 at 5 p.m.

Wilson joined CultureShift to talk about the making of the documentary and how he hopes to promote emotional wellbeing among young men.

“We welcome every emotion, every feeling, so that you will learn how to not only reflect on it, but to release it and reset.” — Jason Wilson, The Cave of Adullam

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  • Ryan Patrick Hooper inside the WDET studio.
    Ryan Patrick Hooper is the award-winning host of "In the Groove" on 101.9 WDET-FM Detroit’s NPR station. Hooper has covered stories for the New York Times, NPR, Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit, SPIN and Paste magazine.