From the very first time that I strapped on a karate belt, I thought the length  was very strange. I never liked it then and I still dislike it today. Being an American Indian it was not difficult to imagine why the belt was so long. In traditional times the belt was used for more than just holding up your pants. Many  times as a young boy gathering small firewood to carry back to the camp site a karate belt that long would have come in handy. The longer the belt, the more fire wood you can carry. Today its a waste of good material. I respect traditions to some extent, but in my older age, I would rather save material. So I designed my belt just long enough to go around once and added real leather for embellishment. 

Each solid 5" bar represents 5 degrees. The solid bar in the back flanked

by two 1/2 bar represents my 9th degree in American Kenpo

The two solid 5" bars on the end of the belt represents

10th degree and Grandmaster Status

in my  Falammichi/Red Warrior  System

Last, if you add all the bars up individually it will add up to

29th degrees/level representing my Achafa Tushka-homma System