The way the belt rank system in martial arts works today, I think it would be best to discard it.
When Benny "The Jet" Urquidez earned his black bet in 1964, he was fourteen years old and the martial arts establishment was in awe of this feat. Today, it's common to see students in any school who are only ten or eleven but are wearing first, second, and even third degree black belts.
Some people claim it's an increase in average skill but I don't buy it. I think our standards over who can wear a black belt have changed dramatically. Dramatically in the wrong direction.
In older martial arts schools, there were usually three or four belt ranks between white and black. Today the average number of belt ranks is around ten and some schools even use colored bands between ranks, making it more like twenty! What happened?
You will hear lots of explanations such as "It motivates kids" but I believe it all comes down to two simple answers: Ego and money.
Everyone has an ego and some show it more than others, but if you really want to see someone with an insecure and carefully guarded ego, walk into a martial arts school. Everyone these days feels like they have to prove themselves better than the other guy. A student who has been training for two weeks longer than another will want to show it with a higher belt rank. Often, there is no real difference in skill between the two. Just a difference in pride.
The second reason is money. This is not the students fault, it is the instructor's.
Martial arts instructors know that a large amount of their total income is from their youngest students. And you have to keep these students enrolled to make your money. A young student who has been training for a long time will want to be promoted. And if the instructor doesn't think they are ready, odds are that they will quit and enroll in a school that will promote them. So how does an instructor keep students for several years and still satisfy their desire to constantly earn new belts? Make multiple belts with many bands, patches, and belt stripes between each rank.
Unfortunately, it gets worse. Many martial arts instructors will manipulate the teaching of patience in the martial arts to keep students in their school. They will tell their students that if they ask about when they might have their next belt test, they are showing a lack of patience, and now the time must be extended. All the while, the student's enrollment money keeps on coming in. It is a very sneaky trick to make students stay enrolled and paying as long as possible.
Ultimately, there is no true need for a belt system in martial arts. I don't want to be judged by someone's own personal idea of what my belt rank means. Because I don't wear a belt or hold a martial arts rank, people can only judge me based upon my performance.
After all, many fighting styles don't use ranking systems. In professional boxing there are no belt ranks except one (the world tittle belt). If someone wants to know how good you are, they have to watch you box. The same applies for wrestling. So why do we need the belt for other styles?
Very few martial arts schools and trainers today require the same expertise, mental toughness, and teaching ability that used to be required to don a black belt. There are exceptions of course. Organizations like the Joe Lewis Fighting System and the Ukidokan systems hold true to awarding black belts selectively and only to those who have the real qualifications.
But over all, I see the belt system as a problem. A problem that might best be discarded.
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