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Message: <blockquote data-quote="s/LaSH" data-source="post: 770470" data-attributes="member: 6929">I don't think there was any particular historical European order that took unarmed martial arts to such an extreme - and I emphasise unarmed martial arts, because martial arts also includes things like bearded axes and pikes, if you want to get pedantic.But there are records of people with skills that approach monkish levels. An acrobat or all-rounder athlete might fill the notch. Consider a Spartan champion (proto-European, but still European). A normal Spartan warrior had immense endurance, combat training, and strength - admittedly, they used spears and armour as well. But when it came to the Olympics, they didn't use props, they competed naked. And in the Olympics, things such as speed, hurdle jumping, wrestling prowess and accuracy (with thrown weapons) were most important. That sounds suspiciously monk-like to me. (Of course, all the Spartans would start off taking Fighter levels to get good with their longspears and heavy armour, but that probably explains why no Spartans were known for, say, walking through walls like high-level monks.)And correct me if I'm wrong here, but I've heard that kung fu was developed by Shaolin monks after Buddha passed by their monastary and taught them a set of exercises. The story may be false (I really don't know if I'm even quoting it correctly), but the idea of a developed set of exercises could lead any small group to a path of inner mastery. Especially in, oh say Dark Ages Europe when it wasn't exactly safe to hang around lying on the hill side all day remarking on the beauty of the world.And I like the idea of a Strange Visitor From Another World (tm) running around discovering his powers...Doesn't really take much work to figure something out. D&D's all about characters with ridiculous abilities (like spellcasting), there's bound to be some justification for someone with superhuman powers.</blockquote>

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