Karate

LOTS OF CHILDREN take karate lessons. Some even stick with it long enough to move up one or two degrees, earning more than one belt.But a young Severna Park resident has set a record at the Kick Connection in Pasadena. Five days before his seventh birthday on Aug. 29, Gregory Aiken became the club's youngest black belt. He earned eight belts to get to this level.Gregory, the son of Jerry and Sandy Aiken, began lessons at age 3 and has won 40 trophies.The second-grader at Calvary Baptist Academy hopes to take his karate prowess to the 1997 Junior Olympics.

Sitting across a table from Ralph Macchio, you have to keep reminding yourself that you're not talking to a kid. After all, he's 34 years old now with two kids of his own.But Ralph Macchio was a teen-ager much longer than most of us. After all, he was 27 by the time he made his third -- and he hopes last -- "Karate Kid" movie.And he still has that playful gleam in his eye, and, yes, that boyish grin.Not that Macchio tries to minimize his boyishness. To the contrary, it undoubtedly helped him win the lead in "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying," which begins its national tour at the Mechanic Theatre on Tuesday.

An 18-year-old Severn man was convicted of assault and battery in Anne Arundel Circuit Court yesterday for punching a youth last summer while imitating a Bruce Lee karate movie the defendant had just watched with some friends.Joe N. Rider of the 1800 block of Montreal Road pleaded not guilty in the Aug. 16 attack on Anthony Sherer, but was convicted by Judge Raymond G. Thieme Jr. after prosecutors read a statement of facts.Rider is to be sentenced March 1.Assistant State's Attorney Warren W. Davis III said the victim, then 15, was talking to a neighbor in front of his house in the 1700 block of Village Square about 10:15 p.m. when Rider and two acquaintances attacked him.Anthony was hit at least three times in the head, Mr. Davis said.

A Severn man who imitated what he saw in a Bruce Lee karate movie pleaded guilty Friday in Anne Arundel Circuit Court to bashing in the face of a youth last summer.Charles Randolph, 18, of the 1800 block of Quebec Road, who was convicted of assault with intent to maim, will be sentenced Feb. 27 by Judge Raymond G. Thieme Jr.Randolph attacked Anthony Scherer, 15, near his home in the 1700 block of Village Square Court in Severn on Aug. 16. Police say two others also attacked the boy.The youth underwent 10 hours of surgery for a concussion and other head injuries at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

George L. Curnoles, a meditation teacher and karate expert, died Oct. 18 of cancer at Stella Maris Hospice. The Northwest Baltimore resident was 63.Mr. Curnoles, who never considered himself a guru and modestly described himself as just a "guy," nevertheless introduced several generations of Baltimoreans to the meditative exercises and spiritual benefits of tai chi and hatha yoga.Once described in a newspaper article as being "broad-shouldered and balding -- and looking vaguely like Mr. Clean in his fighting robes," Mr. Curnoles conducted classes in the area for nearly 40 years.

FOR THE SECOND year in a row, Daniel Ipes won the grand champion in sparring title at the Four Seasons Regional Karate Classic, Sept. 23.Although a senior at Hammond High School, he competed in the men's heavyweight division, winning all his divisional matches and the grand champion match without any point scored against him. The tournament was sponsored by Martial Arts for Charity, which donates profits to the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation.Three hundred competitors participated in the tournament.

Students from an Ellicott City karate school encountered the biggest barrier imaginable -- fighting an undefeated team on their own turf -- while competing in their first tournament.The local students lost the match against the Okinawa champions by only two points, but won fifth place in the world tournament in Japan in August.For instructor Jim Lilley, the contest was a chance to renew his ties with the island expert who taught him traditional Japanese karate more than three decades ago, Takeshi Miyagi.

It's a Wednesday evening at the Webster M. Kendrick Recreation Center in West Cold Spring. Outside there is the peace that typically comes with day's end in this quiet Northwest Baltimore neighborhood. But inside the gym it's a different story. There, young warriors prepare for battle. The Avengers Karate Club is about to meet.The smallest combatant is a 6-year-old barely 4 feet tall, the largest a teen-ager who has pushed past 6 feet. Their size difference doesn't mean they won't pair up to spar.

The elderly get a kick out of Steve EismanTwo months ago, karate instructor Steve Eisman stood before a group of women. The man had an agenda.Ladies, the sixth-degree Black Belt said, we are going to learn how to punch, kick and block. We are going to learn self-defense, self-control, self-esteem and whatever self-word we can think of.The women didn't move from their seats. They couldn't, they said. The oldest was 79, after all. The youngest was 72."It's amazing what these ladies can do now," says Mr. Eisman, the 44-year-old master instructor at Power Masters Martial Arts Academy in Baltimore.

Q: My son is a normal, active teen-ager. In fact, he takes great pride in being physically fit. He has been in karate for six years and exercises five to six times per week. My big problem is that he smokes. Even though I point out how unhealthy it is, he just replies that he is healthier than all of his other friends. Any ideas how I can get him to stop?A: We agree that your son should stop smoking promptly, although the decision is ultimately up to him. Many experts in smoking cessation believe that smokers must reach a certain point before they are receptive to stop-smoking messages; your son may not yet be at that point.