The standard monk uses a set of weapons most commonly seen in traditional Okinawan and Japanese martial arts systems. The sai and kama, in particular, are often associated with the fighting methods of those island nations, while weapons like the quarterstaff are more widely used and practiced throughout the world. Many other fighting styles and cultures exist worldwide, and not all monks must practice the same martial arts. If your monk wants something a little different, try one of these real-world fighting styles from Southeast Asia.
Since the early 1800s, members of this Nepalese tribe have served as special forces for the British military. Noted for their stealth and ferocity in battle, the Ghurka earned great fame for themselves and their weapon of choice, the kukri. The kukri is a common tool for these people, and many children as young as five years old receive one. As the child grows, he develops great skill with the kukri, since it is used for everything from cutting wood to skinning game.
In a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, the Ghurka (or a similar tribe) might be special agents of a great empire, or just a small but deadly tribe hidden in a faraway mountain jungle. Many of the tribesmen could be rangers or barbarians, but monks represent the true masters of their fighting art.
A Ghurka monk loses proficiency in the kama, nunchaku, sai, shuriken and siangham and gains proficiency in the kukri, short sword (some kukri are quite large) and short bow. The Ghurka monk uses the kukri, short sword and club as special monk weapons.
These three terms refer to a wide variety of Filipino martial arts systems. Each has a long and unique history, and detailing each art is far beyond the scope of this article. They do share certain common traits and training methods that can be applied to the monk class.
Filipino martial culture makes extensive use of the knife, and some Filipinos carry a blade from an early age. Classical Filipino martial arts use blades as short as daggers or as large as longswords. During training, short sticks are often used as a substitute for blades and many Filipino masters are as dangerous with a stick as they are with a blade. Many of these styles teach the use of these weapons in pairs, a tactic than can be represented with the Two-Weapon Fighting feat in D&D.
Monks trained in Filipino martial arts lose proficiency in the kama, nunchaku, sai, shuriken and siangham but gain proficiency in the short sword, longsword and whip. Monks using this style count the club, dagger, quarterstaff and short sword as their special monk weapons.
Movies and kickboxing competitions have helped to popularize the art of Muay Thai, but Krabi-Krabong — a Thai weapons-based art — is less well known. The art is considered by some to be a predecessor of Muay Thai, and it utilizes many of the same powerful kicks, elbow and knee strikes that Muay Thai is famous for. Thai culture is strongly Buddhist, and Krabi-Krabong incorporates many Buddhist rituals and beliefs into its training.
Krabi-Krabong teaches the use of five weapons and three types of shields. The weapons include the daab, a heavy curved sword often used in pairs (a technique referred to as Daab Song Muun); the krabi, a short saber; the krabong, a long bamboo staff; the mae sun sowks, a tonfa-like weapon also used in pairs; and the ngao (spear). The shields consist of the dung (long shield), kaen (medium shield) and loh (round shield). Techniques are often practiced with live blades, so students must learn control as well as power and timing.
In place of the kama, nunchaku, sai, shuriken and siangham, monks trained in Krabi-Krabong learn the short sword, spear, and short spear and treat all those weapons as special monk weapons (as well as the club and quarterstaff). They also gain proficiency with all shields except tower shields, although they do not gain additional armour proficiency.
Source: Dragon Magazine #330 (Page 90)