About Us

Dharma DC was created and continues to be maintained by Thomas Ressler, a Buddhist and martial arts practitioner in Rockville, Md.

Thomas is working on his shodan (1st degree) in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, under the auspices of the Bujinkan Hombu Dojo and Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi, of Noda City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Dr. Hatsumi is the sole soke, or grandmaster, of the only surviving, historically unbroken ninjutsu lineage in the world.

He also holds a shodan (1st degree) in the derivative To-Shin Do ninjutsu, a revolutionary, modern-day application of the "warrior way of enlightenment" of the ninja of feudal Japan, pioneered by An-shu Shidoshi Stephen K. Hayes, the 10th degree black belt "father of American ninjutsu" and member of the Black Belt Hall of Fame.

Thomas has also been certified in Compliance, Direction, Takedown Training by Bujinkan Shihan Will Maier (10th degree), under the auspices of CDT founder, president and senior instructor, Thomas J. Patire, 7th degree, Hom-Do. CDT is a unique non-deadly force self-defense system that has been taught to members of the FBI, CIA, Secret Service, U.S. Marshalls, and numerous military and law enforcement personnel. Thomas' CDT certifications have included basic Tactical Control and advanced Last Resort Weapons Disarm training.

Thomas has been taught by some of the finest ninjutsu practitioners and instructors in the world, including An-shu Shidoshi Stephen K. Hayes (10th degree), Shihan (senior master instructor) Jack Hoban (15th degree), and Shihan Will Maier (10th degree), all of the U.S.; along with Shihan Isamu Shiraishi from Japan (14th degree and one of Hatsumi Sensei's original core students), Shihan Steve Byrne (12th degree) of Ireland; and Shihan Tim Bathurst (11th degree) of Australia.

Thomas served as a member of the dignitary protection security detail assigned to the Dalai Lama of Tibet during His Holiness' 1996 visit to Chicago. He has also taught women's self-defense, and is adept at teaching individuals with learning disabilities such as Downs Syndrome and physical handicaps such as artificial limbs and wheelchair confinement.

Thomas has specialized training in dignitary protection skills, as well as advanced training in Japanese swordsmanship known as takagi yoshinryu jutaijutsu and in daisho sabakigata (tsuka kudakai and hikidori).

He began his martial art training under the direction of Shidoshi Wayne Bearstler (6th degree) through the Kasumi-An Dojo/Illinois Quest Center in suburban Chicago, where he was a member of the school's Masters Club and its team of instructors.

Thomas also has been confirmed as a first-level practitioner of the Japanese healing art of Reiki, and has practiced various forms of Western, Eastern and Native American meditation and spirituality since 1980.

More recently, he became a candidate for initiation in the N'dee White Mountain Apache warrior tradition of the southwestern American Indian, under the auspices of Warrior School founder Jeffrey Prather, 10th degree, Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, and former U.S. Special Forces member. His guide on the indigenous spiritual path had been Phillip Legare Deleecho, teacher and benefactor in the Warrior School, and Shihan 13th Dan in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu.

Thomas' spiritual background includes various traditional and esoteric Christian traditions, along with extensive experience in Eastern spirituality, including Dharmakaya, Dzogchen, Gnosticism, Hinduism, Ninpo/Mikkyo, Taoist gi gong, Tendai, Thai Theravada, Tibetan Nyingma, Shamanism, Shingon and Shinto -- as well as Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese Zen.

He has been a practicing Buddhist since the spring of 1990, mostly focusing on his unique blend of Japanese Zen and Ninpo/Mikkyo since 1995, most recently beginning an exploration of Kuji-In and Kuji-Kiri.

Thomas was one of the participants of the Dalai Lama's Kalachakra Initiation, held in August 1999 in Bloomington, Indiana, where he received his bodhisattva vow during a ceremony conducted by His Holiness. He has also practiced Japanese Zen with John Daido Loori, Bonnie Myotai Trace, and Jeffrey Shugen Arnold of Zen Mountain Monastery, and Rev. Andy Jiro Afable of Wild Goose Zendo. Thomas also studied Tendai Buddhism under Rev. Clifford Jikai Sensei.

He continues to perfect his ninpo budo taijutsu at the Potomac Bujinkan Dojo in Gaithersburg, his Kuji-In practice at home in Rockville, and his Zen practice at the Ka-Shin Zendo in Chevy Chase.

Time for Contact "Plan B" As E-mail Issues Resurface! As has happened more than once before with our precious Web site, we have discovered an issue that prevented incoming e-mail generated by our contact function. So instead of messing with the unpredictable nature of the automatic response, we've decided our visitors would probably be best served by just contacting us via e-mail. So, if you can't find what you're looking for on this site, have information you'd like to submit, or otherwise desire to engage in an intriguing e-mail dialogue with this site's mysterious mastermind, send an e-mail at dharmadc@gmail.com. If you've recently submitted a request via the automatic contact form, please resend via e-mail. Thank you. Our apologies for any inconvenience or lack of response.