Thanks Firas, Michael, & Tim for the comments!
First, albeit embarrassing, I will relay my feedback in Thai Boxing/MMA training.
Took my first lesson last Monday and the only thing noticeable were some bruises and a sore left leg from repeated practice kicks as well as a sore ribcage from a knee going there.
On Tuesday morning I really could not move without pain in my back. I had been thrown twice on the ground and they dont use padding here. They didnt do the throws overly hard, per say, but even high falling Ukemi in Aikido bothers me due to an auto accident I had around the age of 26. [mercedes slammed our VW in the rear... seems all the shock went into my spine and neck.]
This problem is something that I have been dealing with for awhile.
My lack of a consistent yoga and fitness program did not help me prepare for this first ThaiBoxing/MMA lesson as it was more a being thrown in there to get the hang of things. [which is fine if I were a bit younger I suppose]
So last Wednesday I took another go at it, and the constant kicks to the side, even with the pads, was to much... and I had a clear punch to my neck delivered which half way blacked me out. [larger guy, but hey, even a smaller guy would have given me some problems after how I was feeling.]
I backed off from it Friday and this past Monday. I went to Aikido Thur. and yesterday but refused to do any Ukemi... just cant. Back is slowly getting better, but I realized that I must put some more serious effort into actual conditioning that I used to be involved in before I give it another go. I have just now talked to the instructor to see if I can do bag work to get used to it all.
For the fun of it, I did get in some solid punches, though I didnt use full force, [mainly out of concern the larger dude would nail me] lol - but I did it fighting south paw. [Couple of face jabs and hooks, as I stayed on the outside of his left hand circling around for punches. That was a cool experiment.]
Anyway, that is my update... I was curious, as mentioned, to see how the yin and yang blended... of course I have some philosophical view points on this from my extremely limited experience with it, but we will have to see how things progress.
Again, would love to have had a good warrior story to share, especially after my comments about feeling like I would be a natural Thai boxer. [comments were made by me due to my experience, in my younger years, where my neighbors and I would fool around, free sparring, with full contact kicks, etc. and it didnt bother me one bit. Guess age catches up with you... though Im sure with some effort, I can rework some of what I used to have.
[on second thought, we didnt kick with our shins... that seems to make a world of difference with pain.]
Peace
dAlen