ITF = Shotokan?

[praetorian01]

So is Shotokan just Japanese Shorin-ryu?

The Shotokan egg came before the Shorin-ryu chick. The later uses higher stances- closer to TKD. I've been in all three. Lots of similarities if you recognize which one came first and why they adapted things the way they did. Lots of water under those bridges after fifty years or so- meaning they have all had time for them to diverge into their own thing(esp. within TKD, or sport vs traditional focus).:toothy6:
A ton of similarities IMHO.

[DerAuslander]

The Shotokan egg came before the Shorin-ryu chick. The later uses higher stances- closer to TKD. I've been in all three. Lots of similarities if you recognize which one came first and why they adapted things the way they did. Lots of water under those bridges after fifty years or so- meaning they have all had time for them to diverge into their own thing(esp. within TKD, or sport vs traditional focus).:toothy6:
A ton of similarities IMHO.

You don't have a clue what you're talking about.

[whatever_works]

You don't have a clue what you're talking about.

I'd say you are spot-on there...

honestly, knowing your lineage wont make you punch or kick harder

[highkick4]

Here's a proposition; I've trained in "ITF Taekwondo" here in the U.S. and from observing other American schools I've found that other forms of American martial arts generally amount to the same kind of fighting/ sparring/ competitive techniques that I learned. In short, if you've been training here in the U.S. you'll find that there's hardly any difference between american itf taekwondo and american shotokan karate. On the flip side, you should check out some ITF videos from Korea and some Shotokan videos from Japan because in my personal opinion there certainly is a difference. (Yes, even though a karate influence can be seen in the roots of taekwondo.)

[EdgeWalker]

I'm glad that no one here is relating TKD to Taekkyon. It's really irritating if you have to explain it everytime lol

[CMHenry]

I guess you could consider me coming in late on this, but I just signed up and have a history with ITF and Shotokan.
I taught ITF Oh Do Kwan as I learned it from the Korean Army. I came to ITF with about 3 years of shorin ryu and tang soo do and a smidgin of Kyokushinkai. At one time I had a student in my class who was a green belt in Shoto Kan and after about a month I called him aside because he wasn't progressing. He told me he was not wanting to change styles and just wanted to practice Shotokan. At no point did I think what he was doing looked like what I was teaching or doing.
I do know about the Japanese/Okinawan forms being the norm in early TKD and the Chang Hon forms were the first attempt to make something uniquely Korean. Having done the Heian/Pinan forms and then learning the ITF forms my personal preference was the ITF forms. Gen Choi changed everything to a snappy kind of technique and I didn't feel like there was anything commanding about the changes so I stayed with what I was doing. Choi lost me with the communist thing anyway.