Kensei Taba trained more than 60 years in Karate-Do under such great Karate Masters as Shoshin Nagamine, Hohan Soken and Chosin Chibana. Kensei Taba was also a very important student of Shoshin Nagamine, he was head of the Matsubayashi-Ryu organization at the time of Shoshin Nagamine's death.

Sensei Taba left O'Sensei Nagamine's WMKA and created his own school, Shogen-Ryu to pass on the teachings of Matsubayashi-Ryu as they were taught directly by Osensei Nagamine. To honor O’Sensei Nagamine he chose the name Shogen Ryu, he kept the symbol for “Matsu” which is read as “Sho.” That is for his name Shoshin. “Gen” means “root” to symbolizes his desire to get back to the realistic and effective root of Okinawa Karate-Do.