Who on here has taken an oath or vow to use what they hav learned in self defence or defence of the helples?

Sifu,

I haven't done this, but I think it is a great idea. Now the hard part is that people will say anything, but will they live up to it. Are there in actions taken if they break the vow? How do you enforce it?

I haven't signed anything, but every time we took a promotion test for Aikido, we were required to recite an oath to uphold the principles of the art's founder and to refrain from using what we learned for criminal or unethical acts that would bring dishonor to our dojo and art. Our Sensei has expelled a brown belt in the past for dislocating another man's elbow and shoulder in a drunken brawl, which he judged as a violation of the principles that he taught us and set a very bad example for the lower belts.

Its actually up to the individual martial artist and his or her set of ideals. Ive come across martial artists that act as punks even though their lineages are respectable. Some MA schools have to accept students because of associations and family ties.

Unfortunately martial artists are simply human. No matter how hard instructors try to instill a sense of right and wrong in their students, its ultimately up to the individual student to abide by those teachings.

a long time ago i took a vow to never use what i have learned to hurt anyone. i made this vow to honer what i have learned and not let myself become the bad guy. with great power comes greater responabilty. i mean every word.

I like it. While I have never signed anything saying this, I made that commitment long ago.

i havent done this either, but i like the idea