[thebwit]

Ok after much debate with the wife I finally convinced her to let me train MMA and she is awfully close to letting me actually fight. Now I am not stupid, I know I can't just go in and fight - I need to train and learn first. I will be moving up to the Chicago Suburbs (northwest) in late June and that is when I get to start training.

So my questions:
How do I find a good gym? My martial arts training in the past has been Tae Kwon Doe and not very much so I can learn new things no problem.

How long should I be training for each day and how many days per week?

Any advice for how long I should train before I try to land an actual fight?

Are there amateur fights that I should look for?

Obviously I should train in BJJ, but what else should I focus on? Boxing, Muy Thai, Wrestling, something else?

My reasons for wanting to train are two fold - 1 I want to get into fantastic shape and 2 I want to get out of IT and this is the only thing I feel passionate about. Any all advice would be appreciated. Mods feel free to move this where ever, I just posted it here to get exposure.