Prototype

I would say of the TKD styles out there, the WTF has done the most work of tying to make TKD stand out more from Shotokan and its Karate roots. This is easily seen in the progression of its form/poomsae syllabus over the years. Although performed differently, many of the poomsae (pattern) techniques in WTF are the same as in Shotokan but not in ITF. So based on the patterns, it's closer to Shotokan than ITF. Basically Everything has been modified in ITF patterns and the black belt patterns are much more extravagant (plenty of aerial kicks) compared to the ultra conservative WTF/KKW and Shotokan katas.

Hi, I am curious how the Shotokan curriculum looks given that there are no kicks in the katas except for the sidekick, crescent kick, front kick, and turning kick on the ground. When (if ever) do you start elaborate kick-training for beginners?. And are some of the more modern kicks like spinning back kicks/sidekicks, reverse roundhouse kick part of all Shotokan dojos, or is it up to the instructor? Based on what I've seen it still looks very traditional with emphasis on the straight punches in various stances and not even remotely the same time devoted to kicking.