My name is Samuel Carus. I have spent my life pursuing peak mental and physical performance. I am a Special Operations Forces (SOF) Veteran from the Psychological Operations (PsyOp) Regiment, a life-long martial artist, and former research scientist.
A Life-Changing Experience at Sea
The summer before high school, at 14 years of age, I had the opportunity to sail as a full crew-member of a 40′ cutter. 1,000 nautical miles across open sea, from Oahu Hawai’i to Fanning Island and back. Out in deep water, with no land in sight, I had my first near brush with death. I had let my attention wander, hypnotized by the waves and the majesty of the Pacific. With high winds and choppy waters, one slip was all it took for me to be suddenly tumbling over the rail. In that weightless moment, my mind snapped into perfect focus. Time slowed, and I knew exactly what I had to do to catch myself from being lost at sea. Hands were sure, grip was calculated, cracked ribs ignored, and I was safe. The sense of purpose in that one second of clarity changed my life. Ever since, I have lived in pursuit of peak mental and physical performance. My successes, the lessons I’ve learned – and have enjoyed teaching – are what have led me to where I am today.
Mentorship and Military Path
After graduating from Carleton College with a degree in Psychology & Neuroscience, I had the opportunity to work at Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, which is inside the Walter Reed complex. I worked at a Human Performance Laboratory. One of the laboratory’s functions was to help inform service members of supplements safety and efficacy. Another was to assess heat casualty return to duty, resilience, and long-term effects. It was here that I grew to admire the camaraderie and sense of purpose of the service members around me. This helped contribute to my decision to join the U.S. Army.
Another contributing factor was meeting Marcus Wynne. Marcus Wynne was a veteran of the 82nd Airborne and former Air Marshall. He was a pioneer in “Neural” training. He revolutionized modern firearm training and consulted with DARPA and NASA for his accelerated learning protocols and his “neural” training. Those same protocols were validated as part of NASA’s Comprehensive Behavior Competencies research. I had the honor of training under him and we continued periodic e-mail communication over the years. He suggested I join the Navy and go to BUDS, but after my sailing trip, I was done with boats. I decided to join the Army and Special Operations Forces.
I loved my time in SOF and PsyOp. The operational tempo of SOF is a near constant. When we’re not actively deployed, we’re training. There is a mission driven sense of purpose towards self-improvement. During this time, I met and married my beautiful wife and we started our family. I thought I would stay in service for 20+ years. But as much as I love PsyOp, I love my wife and my family more. I left active duty service right before the birth of our wonderful daughter.
Throughout this time, I have been training multiple martial arts. I have dabbled in nearly every martial art I could get my hands on. I have instructor ranks in multiple martial arts. However, I grew up doing Kung Fu and have a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Gabriel Sousa.
The Birth of Randori Resources
In 2024, Gabriel Sousa was competing at the Abu Dhabi Combat Championships. He was the returning Silver medalist and a 66kg division favorite. In his first match of the tournament, Gabriel was winning, setting the pace and consistently attacking. Until he made a mistake, he rushed a position, got countered, and lost. I immediately recognized what happened and why. I knew that I could help him. I knew that in order to help him and others achieve their goals I needed to systemize my life’s pursuit and create a company.
And so I founded Randori Resources and created the Randori Method. “Randori” directly translates from Japanese as “to pick from chaos”. In Judo, randori takes the form of sparring. But in this context, the sparring is with your mind.
Armed with a system for enduring peak performance and modern neuroscience technology, I measure client’s brain waves for changes and improvements and create custom for-your-brain training programs.
I created Randori Resources and the Randori Method™ so that I could share with the world my system for peak mental performance.