Ninja: An honest question.

[Dyne_Fellpool]

I still think that the monk's Shoulder Tackle should have been a flying kick, ala Yang from FF4.

[Warlyx]

wait for heavensward , Footwork incoming!

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Footwork

[dippindots326]

That sounds sick actually

[ShaolinMike]

To be stylistically different is likely the reason. I suppose that case could be made that Kung-fu, the martial art most commonly associated with monks is more about punching than kicking, but that is a rather weak correlation in my opinion.

That's not ENTIRELY accurate. "Kung fu" is a very general term, and there are many different "styles" that all fall under the kung fu umbrella. Some systems (Wing Chun for example) focus more on hand strikes than kicks, but overall there are just as many kicks in kung fu as there are punches.

Like you said, it's most likely just to separate MNK from NIN stylistically.