Ken Tallack was one of the first Canadians to travel to Okinawa for the express purpose of studying Budo.
He began his Martial Arts training in the early 60s as a member of the YMCA judo club at the London Ont. Branch.
He joined the Canadian Karate Kung Fu club in London in the centennial year, 1967, and like Ron Yamanaka, continues to teach and practice his style this day. Students he has taught this style to include Mike Atkinson, Vanora Millar, Dave McGrath, Dave Murphy, Sharon Berman, Jim McIntosh, Holly Wass and others.

     In 1971 Ken met Bob Dalgleish who introduced him to Goju-Ryu . In 1972 Ken moved to Sudbury to train with Dalgleish Sensei as an Uchi Deshi. Other students of the founder of Canadian Goju-Ryu at that time were Sudbury natives Forest, Don Gauthier, Cathy Checetto, Clair Chaput, as well as the Toronto/Hamilton groups including Bill Hinds, Ron Yamanaka, Vince Castellano, Don Warrener and others.

     In 1974 Ken moved to Prince Edward Island where he taught Kung-Fu and Goju-Ryu to such students as Greg McKenna and Gus Longaphie, who both still teach today.

     In 1978 Ken started the Martial Arts Fitness Centre in London, Ont. Bob Dalgleish assisted in the design of crest, layout of the school, etc. The school opened July 6, 1978, which was the day Bob died in Thunder Bay, Ont.
The first Black Belt level student at the school was BOB FOLKARD, who had trained with Gary Legacy, then switched to Goju-Ryu in 1978 in California. He was always more of an associate than a true student of Sensei Tallack, but he always recognized that Ken Tallack was his senior in Karate-Do. Leo Loucks and Syd Chambers were not far behind Bob in the same type of relationship with Sensei Tallack.

     Mike Bernardo was a 16 year old Shodan when he started with Sensei Tallack. Although he always maintained some independence, he learned many teaching methods and concepts, along with advanced empty hand forms through Sensei Tallack. It was Ken Tallack who introduced Mike to Bo Kata, and who encouraged his competing on a local and regional level throughout the early and mid 1980s'.

     Derek Wass was the first "homegrown" student to receive a Shodan at the Martial Arts Fitness Centre in June 1982.
Ken Tallack taught Goju-Ryu to such students as Steve MacVicar, Carl Wheeler and Lynn Dwight all of whom had some experience in Tae Kwon Do before beginning with Sensei Tallack, but who also both started at WHITE BELT in 1978 (MacVicar) and 1980 (Wheeler), 1981 (Dwight). MacVicar never received the Goju-Ryu Shodan from Sensei Tallack, however Wheeler received his Shodan in March 1983 along with Dave McGrath, Brian Robb and Holly Wass. Dwight received her Shodan along with Les Johns, Mike Jorgenson, Rick Tapp, Mark Dodds and others in 1985.

     In May 1985, Ken Tallack and Pat McCarthy traveled to Okinawa to investigate the roots of Karate-do. It was during this trip that Ken Tallack became the first Canadian student of Yagi Meitoku Sensei. Mike Borowsky of Toronto had visited the Yagi Dojo earlier that year, but at Shodan level, he followed his teacher Ron Yamanaka into the Jundokan training upon return to Canada. Ken Tallack received daily private lessons from Yagi Meitoku Sensei in May-June 1985, then he returned to Canada.

     Due to an accident upon arrival in Canada, Sensei Tallack did not teach anyone the Meibukan System before Jan. 1986. That is the earliest date that any Canadian student other than Ken Tallack can say that they BEGAN their Goju-Ryu Meibukan training. It wasn't until Sept. 1986, during Sensei Tailback's second visit to Okinawa, that Brian Robb, Dave McGrath, Holly Wass, Mark Dodds and Sharon Tallack (nee Berman) learned the entire system (at their own levels of course, being Shodan level at the time) in Okinawa.

     Perry Campbell, a student of Israel Segarra in Whitefish Falls, Ont., formally requested that Sensei Tallack accept him as a student in May 1986. Perry was a new Shodan at this time.

     Sensei Tallack returned to Okinawa in March 1987 accompanied by Mike Busby. Herr Baron Jake von Klaus and a student of the Baron's. At this time, Sensei Tallack accepted the Goju-Ryu Meibukan Fifth Dan directly from Yagi Meitoku Sensei, making him the first Caucasian student to receive ranking directly from the inheritor of the Goju-Ryu system since Anthony Mirakian in 1959.

     Sensei Tallack always had a policy of requiring students to endure a grading from Richard Kim's Butokukai as well as his own Dojo grading. Due to this policy, some students have dual dates of the receipt of rankings, for instance Mike Bushby received the Shodan in Goju-Ryu Meibukan from Sensei Tallack in June 1987, but the Shodan through the Butokukai in 1988. Other students such as Perry Campbell were graded only through the Butokukai, with Sensei Tallack being the senior Goju-Ryu examiner. Perry Campbell, along with Rick Ross, Mike Bushby and others accepted the Shodan from Sensei Tallack, through Richard Kim's Butokukai, in November, 1988. This was the only ranking he ever received from Sensei Tallack, which he felt was an accurate representation of Mr. Campbell's ability at that time.
At the same time, Carl Wheeler received the San Dan.

     Ken Tallack taught Perry Campbell Goju-Ryu as his direct Sensei until June 1990, when Perry secretly invited Yagi Meitetsu to visit Canada and grade him to San Dan.

     Interest in Goju-Ryu Meibukan had been spreading rapidly in Canada since Sensei Tallack introduced it in 1985. People such as Jay Purdy, Poon Chan, Ray Tremblay, Greg McKenna and others had come to Sensei Tallack for training.

     Poon Chan had learned Goju-Ryu in Hong Kong (Seibukan of Suzuki Sensei) but he had not practiced for some time. When he started with Sensei Tallack he was unable to perform any of the advanced Kata. He learned these from Sensei Tallack.

     Jay Purdy is a senior level student of Senior Canadian Goju-Ryu practitioner Bill Hind of Toronto. Sensei Hind expressed interest in Goju-Ryu Meibukan, and Jay Purdy looked into it deeply, traveling to London for training with Sensei Tallack before visiting Okinawa several times.

     Sensei Hind visited Okinawa, and has integrated the Meibukan system into his Canada Goju-Ryu. Ken Tallack moved his family to Japan in June 1990. Staying in Hokkaido for 16 months, they then traveled the entire length of Japan by automobile. They settled in Okinawa in November 1991, where they rented an apartment 75 meters from the Meibukan Hombu Dojo. This allowed the Tallack family to train daily in Goju-Ryu with the inheritor of the system, Dai Sensei Yagi Meitoku, when he was feeling up to teaching. Having achieved a certain level of fluency in the spoken Japanese language, Sensei Tallack and his son Robert were able to communicate with the Dai Sensei On a level previously unavailable to any Canadian student. For instance, during one of Les Johns' visits to Okinawa in 1992, he brought many little children with him.

     The Dai Sensei, through Rob Tallack, asked Les why he bothered to come with so many Children. Les replied that they wanted to learn. The Dai Sensei replied that they would be better off staying home with their parents and going to the Dojo there, and that they shouldn't bother coming to the Hombu Dojo. Les replied, with his humility oozing, that they wanted to learn the real way of Okinawan Karate, from the world's greatest master, so they had come to him. Dai Sensei replied "since you can't understand my teaching, don't bother coming back" and left the room. Les thought he was demonstrating the proper form of humility, while the Dai Sensei was clearly saying "don't waste my time with children who frustrate me with their inability to communicate". Such misunderstandings are common between teachers and students when they literally must communicate only through body language. This is the reason why Sensei Tallack felt it was so important to gain some level of fluency in the Japanese language.

     Ken Tallack visited the Dai Sensei almost daily between December 1, 1991 and April 1993, when he returned to Canada, having spent more time training with and learning from the inheritor of the style than any other senior Canadian teacher of Goju-Ryu.

     Ken Tallack now teaches the most authentic form of Okinawan Karate possible at Tallack Martial Arts in Kingston,      Ont. and is completely removed from all Meibukan politics.