Grand Master Sonny Strong earned his first belt in karate 44 years ago.

Today, the Richmond resident is still fit as a fiddle, getting his kicks in the sport by teaching karate classes at the Downtown YMCA.

Mr. Strong has been teaching karate to children and adults for 38 years.

He says he loves being an instructor because “I meet a lot of people.”

He estimates that he has taught thousands of people, ranging from toddlers to senior citizens.

The chief benefit of karate, Mr. Strong says, is that “you learn how to defend yourself.”

Mr. Strong is a ninth degree black belt. That is one rank beneath the highest level one can achieve in the sport

He has earned the designation of “Grand Master,” a title used to describe or address senior or experienced martial artists. Mr. Strong says he caught the karate bug when he was lifting weights at the Downtown YMCA in 1970 and heard karate students in a nearby class. He asked the instructor how much it would cost to take a class and mentioned that he was 36 years old. The instructor told him age “was no barrier” to learning karate.

The rest is martial arts history for Mr. Strong. He earned his first black belt in 1976. Two years later, he became an instructor at the YMCA.

Mr. Strong says karate has taught him “good self-control.”

He says he practices the form of martial arts known as Chinese Kenpo, which is a fighting style that has a mixture of Chinese and Japanese origins.

As part of that style, he has broken cinder block slabs during demonstrations.

Here’s a look at this week’s hard-hitting Personality, Sonny Strong:

Date and place of birth: Aug. 10 in Detroit.

How popular are your classes: In the 1970s, 1980s and the mid-1990s, I had so many students we had to move into the small gym. Our classes are smaller now.

Your instructor’s name: John Waters.

Why are fewer children participating in karate: When children get home from school nowadays, the first thing they do is get on their computers. They don’t want to go to the gym to play other sports or participate in karate.

How do you prepare for your classes: Warm-up exercises like stretching, sit-ups, push-ups, leg lifts, lying on our backs and doing the bicycle with the legs. It takes half an hour to 35 minutes to warm up. After that, they’re ready.

What is a good age to enroll a child in karate: The YMCA policy is 8 years old. I say between 4 and 5 years old. In the tournaments, they have divisions for children 5 and 6 years old.

Youngest student you’ve taught: 8 years old.

Oldest student you’ve taught: 60 years old.

Do your students participate in tournaments: When they join my class, we train them for tournaments. We usually go to tournaments every other Saturday. When we go to the tournaments, they go by belt division and by their age groups.

Describe one self-defense move someone can do: Breaking the chokehold. Like if you go in the parking lot to the car and a guy walks up on you and starts choking you or puts you in a bear hug from behind. I teach a lot of self-defense about breaking the hold and taking your opponent down.

What are the benefits of karate: It keeps me in shape and as I get older, it keeps me able to defend myself. When you get up in age, you’re slower. As long as you stay active in a martial arts class, you’re able to defend yourself.

Have you ever had to use karate for self-defense: So many people know me that they might think twice about doing that. By luck, so far, I haven’t been approached.

What is required to take karate: You wear loose clothes just starting off. We get together as black belts and we find out what size uniform they wear and we order the uniform for the students.

How would others describe you: He doesn’t play, as far as the art is concerned. He’s very serious about what he does in martial arts.

My next goal is: Hoping that the class will grow in numbers so I can continue to teach karate.