I've always disliked the "Monk" class, both from a mechanics perspective and from a flavor perspective. Most of D&D fits a fairly generic setting grounded in European myth and Sword & Sorcery stories, and then out of the blue we get ... Hong Kong Kung Fu inspired characters?
It's always been weird & annoying having a common word like "Monk" being repurposed into meaning, "Superman-like setting-inappropriate unarmed martial artist." I expect this kind of class in Rokugan, or whatever, not D&D's default/implied setting.