Monks in Forgotten Realms??

Are there monks (martial artists) in Forgotten Realms? I've heard about a group of monks that are obsessed with studying and revering death, and there was that other group called the Monks of Candlekeep, but as far as I am aware neither of these groups has anything to do with the martial arts. Nor would they be suitable associations for a PC of the monk class.

Has anyone ever played a monk in FR, or been in a group where there was one?

I'm considering playing one, but I can't figure out how to develop a backstory. Are monks just alien to this campaign world?

Any advice would be appreciated. I'd be perfectly happy dropping a lot of the exotic weapons, which in my opinion are simply too exotic to be a part of most campaign worlds. I'd just like to find some way to make this class playable.

In the FRCS there are several monk orders mentioned.
Offhand,I recall the monks of the Yellow Rose,the Ilmaterite monks(Ilmater has a lot of them),the monks of the Long Death(mostly Loviatar worshippers),the Dark Moon monks(Sharran monk/sorcerers) and several others which I don't recall correctly.Kara-Tur is brimming with them,but it is not well developed in the FRCS,though in the UE there are several mentions of Shu expatriates,Kara-Turan people that migrated to Faerun through the Golden Way.It is safe to say that monks are firmly rooted in Faerun,though the Candlekeep monks are more cleric/sage/loremaster-types than martial arts practitioners,like you said.

There are many ways to build a FR monk.A plan hatching in my brain for our next campaign is a monk 1/cleric x of Ilmatter,with Vows of Poverty,Nonviolence,Peace etc.Granted he is more of a cleric,but a monk-like one.No heavy armor,mace or Flame Strikes with this guy.He is going to be the party buffer/healer,as well as a competent hand to hand combatant with the aim to subdue his opponents.

Another possibility would be building a KaraTuran slave,who is shipped from Kara-Tur to Faerun.He would have a very interesting outlook on life.He would value honor above all else.Also he would most likely worship no Faerunian deity,since Kara-Turans have their own pantheon,the Celestial Bureaocracy.

If your game is an evil one you could build a monk of Shar or Loviatar,as I mentioned above.Those would be more ninja-like/spy types.You could also give them Assassin levels after a while.

Hope I was helpful.If you give me a little more info on what kind of momk do you want to build I could help more.

Faerunian martial monk orders as follows...

Broken Ones- Specifically Imater worshiping order. Lawful Good.

Dark Moon- Shar worshiping evil monks.

Hin Fist- Neutral or Good order of Halflings, but with some gnomes and dwarves.

Long Death- Evil monks that worship death itself regardless of the diety who has dominion over it currently is. Kelemvor doesn't like them, but at least they aren't necromancers.

Old Order- Philisophical monks with no diety anymore. The diety either no longer exists or never existed, the monks can't agree on which. Hardly ever evil.

Shining Hand- Neutral Azuth worshipers.

Sun Soul- Good or neutral monks with a variety of allegiances (Lathander mostly, but some Selune and a few Sune).

Yellow Rose- Ilmater monks again.

Check out this free web enhancement for Faiths & Pantheons. At the end of the PDF is an expanded listing of the various monk and paladin orders in Faerun.