Marie, I agree with you and disagree.... I think adults are still children in a way and enjoy the idea of having colored belts. Reaching the number of days alllows an instructor to promote a student based on his/her abilities, instead of comparing him/her in competition with others. I heard a great quote one day....80% of the battle is just showing up. Looked at from another angle, that meanst that 80% of the time people don't show up for battle.

Wether or not the belts are good or bad depends entirely on what you do with them. I think that the real problem is instructors promoting students just because they accumulated the required number of hours of training, regardless of wether they actually worked and improved during those hours or not. Kids need them because they need a visual clue of their level and the other student's level. Adults should be able to do without that.

@George, The use of a belt system, very common in the U.S., represents a more socialized perspective on progress. It has the effect of letting people a. seek others to train with at a higher level, b. encourage people at their level to keep training. This does happen without colors, it just isn't as emphasized. @Erik, Good job on the videos!

But you already had grades/gradings? Isn't that adeqate for measuring progress/setting goals? The only difference I can see with coloured belts is that they're external - something everybody else can see.