Monk Controversy: Medieval vs Martial Arts

5e had an opportunity to put the Monk class back in its proper place, and Wotc blew it! Martial Arts monks clearly belong in the land of Kara Tur, and the Mendicant Monk would be a more period-appropriate sub-class of the Cleric. Fantasy atmosphere gets ruined with bare fist monks defeating platemail combatants. Other genre-busters like muskets or phasers are not too far a stretch when Monks are pounding away without having to spend a single gold piece on equipment... Gotta love that movie "Dorkness Rising"; it addresses the issue with awesome humor.

Edit: Nvm

It is always up to the Game Master to allow or not any class race ability and what such in the rules he/she feels to be unbalancing are not fitting to their game. If the Players do not like that then they can make their case. They then either go with the GMs final decision or find another Game or even take a turn at being the Game master and walking in those shoes.

It is after All a Fantasy Setting with Magic Monsters Elf's Dwarves and other fantastical things! to say Martial art Monks don't belong because it is more an Asian themed and not a western Europe style Monk is to say most of the unique races and monsters don't apply if you cant trace any lore to them. Use that Imagination you had once and try to enjoy the game and hopefuyy a good story and time with some friends.

I figure once you can fling fire from your hands, bring the dead back to life, stuff everything you own into a bag without its weight increasing, defy gravity, and heal to complete health after 8 hours of rest, ANY argument for realism the way it is on this planet becomes a non sequitur. :)

I just discourage monk at my table most of the time unless it's a setting that is particularly suitable for them. I try to be at least somewhat restrictive with classes and subclasses depending on game concept, since it tends to lead to a tighter theme and also makes that excluded character more interesting when they do get a chance to play it in a game where it has a special niche as opposed to just another option tossed in the kitchen sink.

If you want to go lore heavy then a lot of things should change. But the rules are not the lore. The rules are made to be more generic fantasy and not only for playing on the Sword Coast.

I think it really depends more on your setting than on the ruleset. If your setting is 100% patterned on Europe than it doesn't make sense. If you setting is completely custom than monks could easily be a part of the norm for the world.

In addition any DM can simply say no monks for this campaign. I think this is a better option than removing an option from the rules for campaigns that have used monks for 30+ years (like Greyhawk/Forgotten Realms/custom games/etc.)