I've been hearing that word "obsolete" most all my life--and they still dig holes with shovels.
Digging holes with shovels is hard work.
Always better to use a new and improved, high speed, labor saving device to get the job done in a faster and "better" way.
For example, in the Army, we now do a lot of paper work and such in a digital format. We can, thanks to smartcard technology, even "sign" our names to forms. Now to submit a DA 31, request for leave, a process that took only about three pages and about three signatures, now thanks to the ease of the process has added an stunning number of steps. Since everything is online, now there are Army-wide risk assessments to be filled out, most duty stations have some sort of leave and risk assessment packet that is local to the command as well, vehicle inspection sheets, and Mapquest directions, and a copy of your leave and earning statement. While I am of the growing opinion that all of this is an active plot to discourage us from taking leave, and I am too stubborn to be defeated in this nefarious ploy, life was much simpler when going on leave consisted of just filling out a DA-31 and showing an LES. Sometimes there is quite a bit to be said for an obsolete idea.
The martial arts are much the same. I have yet to be shown a movement that is more effective and reliable in a fight than a jab/cross combo. Now I'll be the first to admit that there are folks around that have been doing this a lot longer than me, but 25 years is a fair bit of experience, so when I say that I find it unlikely that I will ever be shown a more usefull movement I'm pretty confident in the truth of that statement. I'm sure that other people have moves that they have internalized to the same degree from their arts, and can make that same statement about. I don't think I would be too impressed with the notion that a jab/cross hab become "obsolete". It does take a lot of work to get good at using it, though and maybe that is the problem with a lot of these new "Masters".
Really, though, I for one am not that bother by it. Aside from my students, or any place that I would work out, I am not concerned with what other perple tie around their waist, or call their style of martial arts. Given that I view a martial art style as nothing more than a teaching model to impart a skillset. I could care less if Billy Joe Jim Bob, the Exalted Super Guru of Chop Saki Do proclaims himself to be a 26th degree mauve belt, and teaches his hand picked students the progressive and modern art of Tire Iron Deuling in the Bed of Monster Trucks as long as he and his students are happy with their arrangement and they keep themselves away from me. What others do in their schools is of no concern to me. No skin off my back.
In any event, we all are involved in the creation of our own martial art as other have pointed out in the thread. Assumng that you pass on your "lessons learned" to your students in the form of altering your system, at what point are you no longer teaching the base art? I teach shotokan. I throwing more than a bit of kenpo. My students learn as much about boxing as I can possibly impart to them. They also get a lot of JKD concepts. Now their front stance isn't performed as deep as in most JKA schools. We do Kata but focus on bunkai over the aesthetics. I don't care if its really pretty, I care if they can use the applications. We don't do gohan kumite or sambon kumite. We jump right in at one step and even that ends in the yellow belt levels in favor of free sparring of increasing contact. I also teach some kata outside the standard shotokan syllabus. My students learn a lot of throwing and locking material that I was taught when I traded lessons from a Danzen Ryu buddy. It seemed to be a good fit and was usefull so I teach it.
Now the question.
Am I still teaching shotokan?
I think so. I think that the guys who don't branch out are sort of missing the point. I don't get how you could only do the same kata and foundational exercises for a few decades and not wan't to develop past that stage, but I'll digress. The way I see it is that the point of a martial art is to give the student a base of skills to work with, just like any other sport. Once that base is in place, the individual is free to grow and develop in accordance with their natural inclinations and their experiences. For some reason, in the Martial Arts world this just isn't enough. We need structure. We need codification and other martial artists to certify that we have improved, however incrementaly, so we get these governing bodies and soke boards, and Grand Master Associations, and "Look'it I got yet another red stripe on my black belt, so that must mean I'm better than the next guy and/or the dead GrandMaster liked me more/I'm the rightfull heir" goobers out there.After all, God forbid that we actually prove that we are better by getting on a mat, or in a ring for that matter. As I approach another of these damn gradings that I despise, I've never been able to wrap my head around the fact that I find the idea of degrees of black belt to be nothing more than self-agrandizing B.S., thought up to sooth the egos of people that had trained good athletes couldn't stand the idea of those athletes being their peers. Were it not for the fact that the idea of my grading to godan being very important to my teacher before his passing, I wouldn't test. I intend it to be my last one.
I am rambling, ranting, and disjointed, sorry.
Point is, and the above rant is why I try to keep myself to myself, what other martial artist do has no bearing on me or how I train. I have had to learn to stop getting riled up about all the random things like this that anger me in the martial art world. These new martial art styles will continue to be created. Some will flourish. Most won't. I'll continue to putter along, and pass what I know to my students. I don't feel the need to change the name. Others may. Should one of my black belts stake out and call what I've taught him, Brick Upside the Head Fu, I'll smile and wish him well.
We make too much of a thing that doesn't impact us. Let the foolish follow the fools. Train the students that come to you and make as much of a good impact on them as you can while you have them. The rests is just dogs chasing rain.
Mark
As for the RBSD folks...well, here are 
