Rank and Promotion in Martial Arts

Traditionally, each person has a teacher (Sensei in Japanese) who is responsible for transmitting knowledge and character toward a student, and some say when he stops teaching, The martial Art die.
Since the Sensei is the one who is responsible for giving a student his ranks. Definitively its him, who decides when one gets a promotion, leaving no space for an enthusiastic student to develope skills other than those taught by the Sensei himself and by doing so, it sends a wrong message telling others that you can not study by yourself and the knowledge and skills obtained from other sources do not count !!! as if Knowledge is only to be found in a Do-Jo. So be careful in developing a spirit of a real warrior.
Some would ask is he or she will not be learning from their own investigations !!! although our own masters received their rank in different ways. it is the skill and knowledge that gains the rank, not vice versa.
Fortunately some real Martial Art Masters do appreciate all the effort and the spirit that a student puts on to progress in the world of the martial arts.
Many mistakenly believe that the actual belt ranking system is an ancient aspect of traditional martial arts. It is not.