Sinanju (martial art)

Sinanju is a fictional martial art (the 'Sun Source' of all martial arts) of a cult paperback book series, The Destroyer, by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir. The Destroyer series lampoons politicians, politics, other adventure novels, features gory violence on evildoers, martial art adventures and more.After a faked execution, the protagonist, ex-cop Remo Williams, is recruited by a secret organization, CURE of the U.S. for missions that include saving the world, senators, destroying dangerous cults, criminal organizations, etc., at the same time he receives advanced martial arts training from the master of Sinanju, and all-in-one hired assassin, zen master, super martial artist, nutritionist, soap opera fan and linguist Chiun. Remo is also believed to be the incarnation of Shiva "the destroyer" whose mission is to destroy evil.

Chiun comes from a long line of hired assassins called the House of Sinanju that has pursued its trade since the time of the pharaohs. Early disciples of the art used weapons, but the later practitioners developed virtually superhuman abilities through the training as it became revised following the ascension of Master Wang -- the greatest master of the art up until modern times. The Sinanju training enables one to hold one's breath over an hour, rip steel doors from their hinges, climb walls, dodge bullets (even at point blank range), overturn a moving tank, outrun a car, seem invisible, overcome multiple opponents, etc.

According to Chiun, the other martial arts in the world (Kung Fu, Ninjutsu, etc.) are all seriously diluted imitations of Sinanju. He compares the other arts to rays of sunshine while Sinanju would be the sun itself. He also refers to an ancient legend from Sinanju's past which predicts that the greatest master in the history of the art will be a dead white Night Tiger (Sinanju acolyte) "made whole by the art." Remo appears to fit the description from Chiun's perspective.

Some of the famous Chiun teachings are
*"Let your opponent point to you the way to overcome him."
*"The most dangerous man is he who does not appear dangerous."
*"A man who cannot apologize is no man at all."
*"Everything is a weapon in the hands of a man who knows."
*"One cannot sew a silk purse from a sow's ear."

There are other groups that practice diluted forms of Sinanju. These include;
* The Wa - A line of assassins that were taught by an ancient master of Sinanju how to use knives effectively. They tried to betray the village of Sinanju to its enemies and were forced to flee to Japan, where they operated until the 20th century.
* The Wissex - An English house of assassins that were created after a master of Sinanju received a retainer to train an auxiliary assassin from the court of Henry the Eighth to serve in his absence. This group was trained in poisons and other arts that the House of Sinanju had abandoned following the ascension of Master Wang.
* The Sun On Jo - An American Indian tribe founded by a Master of Sinanju named Kojong who journeyed to America centuries earlier. He taught them how to fight, walk silently across sand without disturbing it and other tricks, but imposed a decree on them that they must not take human life -- this was done so the main house would not face future competitors. He also passed on the Sinanju-derived abilities to his eldest son, whose own first-born sons would be called by the name "Sunny Joe". Remo Williams' father Bill Roam is a member of this tribe and a direct descendant of Kojong; confirming what Chiun had long suspected about Remo's Korean heritage.

External links

* [http://www.destroyerclub.com DestroyerClub.com - the official fansite]
* [http://www.warrenmurphy.com WarrenMurphy.com - Series Co-Creator and Co-Author]
* [http://www.jamesmullaney.com JamesMullaney.com - James Mullaney, co-author of The New Destroyer series]
* [http://www.sinanju.com Sinanju.com - Book series site]
* [http://www.thenewdestroyer.com TheNewDestroyer.com - New Book series site]
* [http://www.sinanju.net Sinanju.net - Destroyer Fan Site]