Sinanju is a fictitious Korean martial art (the "Sun Source" of all martial arts) of the cult paperback book series The Destroyer , by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir. [1] The Destroyer series lampoons politicians, politics, and other adventure novels, and features gory violence on evildoers, martial art adventures and more. [2]
After a faked execution, the protagonist, ex-cop Remo Williams, is recruited by a secret U.S. organization, CURE, for missions that must be handled covertly outside the boundaries of other U.S. organizations. Remo is taught Sinanju by Chiun, the reigning Master of Sinanju, who, besides being the world's greatest assassin, acts as a mentor, nutritionist, and linguist, and is a soap opera fan. 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 before the time of the pharaohs. (Chiun explains that Tutankhamun was killed by a Sinanju master after attempting to defraud the House by reneging on a contract.) Sinanju is a village on the coast of North Korea; the Korean translation is, literally, "comfortable new village". Historically, revenues from the House's contracts have been used to support the inhabitants. 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. Sinanju training enables one to hold one's breath for 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, and bring a woman to the heights of sexual ecstasy.
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 with Sinanju being the sun itself. He also refers to an ancient Sinanju legend 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 in Chiun's estimation.
There are other groups that practice diluted forms of Sinanju. These include:
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Joel Grey is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical Cabaret on Broadway as well as in the 1972 film adaptation. He has won an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award.
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Korean martial arts are fighting practices and methods which have their place in the history of Korea but have been adapted for use by both military and non-military personnel as a method of personal growth or recreation. The history of Korean martial arts can be traced as far back as the prehistoric era. The ancestors of modern Korean people migrated and settled in the Korean Peninsula as early as the 28th century BC, a geopolitical region besieged by thousands of known documented instances of foreign invasions. Consequently, the Korean people developed unique martial arts and military strategies in order to defend themselves and their territory.
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Remo is an American drum skin company.
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Remo Williams is the main character in The Destroyer, a series of novels about a United States government operative and Chiun, a martial arts master who is Williams' 'sunseng', analogous to a sensei.
Remo Williams: The Prophecy is an American action-adventure television pilot from 1988. It is based on The Destroyer pulp paperback series by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, and is a spin-off of the 1985 movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins and incorporates footage from the movie in the opening credits. It stars Jeffrey Meek as Remo Williams, and Roddy McDowall as Chiun. It is loosely based on the 1983 novella "The Day Remo Died". It was directed by Christian I. Nyby II and the teleplay written by Steven Hensley and J. Miyoko Hensley.