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Humans are larger than dwarves, and have the added benefit of being faster. Elves are faster still, and if they are available, goblins tire out more slowly than all three and don't need to eat or drink. You might also want to consider playing as an animal man. Some are much larger than a human and will make much better use of kicking. They often have trouble finding clothing and armor that fits, but if you don't intend to use armor that shouldn't be a problem.
This list might be useful to you if you want to play as an animal man.
Depending on your definition of weapon, there may still be things you can wield. Shields and bucklers can be used to attack as well as defend, and their usefulness cannot be overstated. Also, it's worth remembering that your stringed instrument can serve as a percussion instrument when applied to an enemy's skull.
I don't recommend fighting from the ground, though. When you are on the ground, you move and attack far more slowly than you would otherwise. You would find that enemies attack more often and you would exhaust yourself much faster avoiding their attacks. Even if you were wearing armor, your adventurer's journey would be quite short if you fought like that exclusively.
The idea of a martial arts musician is pretty solid. You may have some trouble with armored enemies and larger creatures, but if you can dodge reliably and avoid exhausting yourself, your chances are about as good as anyone else's. If you decide not to take a shield, you'll want to avoid dragons, because you'll have no way to avoid their breath attack.