KARATE : 7-Year-Old Black-Belt Prodigy Measures Up Against Opponents Twice His Age and Size

Ever felt like you were the smallest kid in class, the one all the neighborhood toughs targeted? Remember staring into the eyes--or maybe it was closer to the midsection--of some muscle-bound bully looking to sling you around like a rag doll? Remember trying to reach out and kick him in the shin, only to find the blow actually landed around his ankle?

Take heart. Every once in a while, a featherweight knocks off a heavyweight--or lands a good chop to the chops.

Jonathan Schwartz, a 7-year-old black belt champion from Westlake Village, battered and bettered competitors more than twice his age, if not his size, to place second in a 15-and-under black belt division at the International Karate Championships in Long Beach earlier this month.

He was, quite literally, the smallest kid in his class.

Schwartz, who was a national peewee champion in two classes at the event last year, had to compete in an older age classification but managed to impress judges enough to take second in kata, the category for form, execution and technique.

His coach, Tom Bloom, told Schwartz that the only chance the little guy would have of making the big time was to become more aggressive.

“He told me to attack them first,” Schwartz said. “To go after them.”

The contrast in size wasn’t lost on the crowd. Schwartz is 3-foot-6 and weighs 50 pounds. It must have looked like Schwartz against Schwarzenegger.

Until competitors with black belts turn 16, when divisions are broken down by weight, the class isn’t broken down by age. Schwartz has a few more years of this to look forward--or, perhaps, up--to.

The Long Beach competition included an international field, with entrants from as far away as the Orient, Australia, England and Mexico.

Schwartz will compete in the Grand National Championships at Cal Poly Pomona on Sunday. He won two titles in the event last year. Schwartz also was named a grand national champion in kata at the U.S. Championships in Costa Mesa in June.

No small feat: Christie Venardos, a 4-8, 75-pounder from Simi Valley, finished second in her class at the Long Beach event. Venardos, a 10-year-old green belt, competed in the girls 9-12 division.