learning by sparring other styles

i was just posting this to get some feed back on whether or not other people in this forum spar against other styles. it is a excellent way to learn what techniques work for you. if you have post it and please share your experiences.

I do quite a bit, but I'm at an advantage.

I have 6 years of taekwondo under my belt and still study it, along with my 2 1/2 years of kung fu.

I spar my kung fu with my brothers and sisters in taekwondo--they use self-defense taekwondo sparring, seperate and different from the sport taekwondo everyone sees that's all kicks, and I spar taekwondo with my brothers in kung fu. One of my taekwondo brothers also has many years of kick boxing under his belt--I spar with him using one art then the other. It's enlightening for all of us.

All in all, I agree that it is a very good way to improve yourself in your art, to see where you might be difficient and study why your weaknesses lie there. I realized, sparring the kick boxer, that I wasn't using a trapping technique in kung fu properly--I was missing a step (literally, I forgot to step)--while I was doing alright in kung fu with that technique, it just didn't work on a non-kung fu student. One of my kung fu brothers saw that, too, and helped me out. Now I just need to work on speed with it (the kick boxer is fast).

I'd love to spar with someone in aikido.

hey robinf, that's great to see someone who actually spars and doesn't just bs. i also have trained in other systems:2 yrs of shigitai jj and judo, as wel as boxing, choy lay fut and wing chun.i now study hop gar which is pretty much fighting oriented(only drills and sparring,no form work).
i have been fighting san shou and mma for 2 yrs. sparred with tkd, bjj, wrestlers, judo,mantis,hop gar, kenpo, isshin-ryu, you name it. learned alot about the "truth" of combat. lot of injuries to prove it(ha,ha). the guy i trained in jujitsu,judo&boxing was a nhb fighter who fought underground matches, about 5'10" &170lbs. pure rip. kicked my a$$ quite a bit. no bad mistakes, only experiences is what master chan alwats says.