One question I've had from a few people as I've been working on this project is where they should even start when looking at gyms. What questions do they need to ask? What should they look for?

It should definitely be noted that I'm still relatively new in the realm of martial arts and am by no means an expert, but here's a few tips that I've found helpful in the past and that have been corroborated by the people I've trained with:

What type of martial arts to study: I am super-duper biased here because Brazilian jiu jitsu is all I train but I love it and I recommend it to everyone. I'm small (5'1") and BJJ is great for smaller people (or people starting out with not a lot of strength) because it focuses on chokes and joint manipulation.

That said, I have also heard good things about Muay Thai and Krav Maga for self defense. Realistically, training anything regularly will have some benefits for self-defense, as a large part of the benefit is being able to overcome flight or fight in the moment and react calmly. Once you've had someone twice your size sitting on you trying to choke you (or coming at you with kicks and punches), it's much easier to keep your cool in real-life situations.

What to look for: Most gyms will allow a free class or a tour, if not more than one (both schools I've trained at offer a free week). When you're checking out your potential gym's website, look for:

Teachers: What's the background of the teachers? How long have they been training? What's their lineage? (Meaning: who taught them?) Are there teachers with different body shapes and backgrounds, or do all of the teachers have the same shape and size of body?

Students pictured: Is it all super beefcakey white dudes? How diverse is the student population? Training someone who is 6'3" and 230lbs to defend themselves effectively is different than training someone who's 5'1" and 120lbs (or anywhere in between). Look for students and teachers that are close to your body size/shape as a guide of how easily they'll be able to modify techniques to work for you.

Website: If they describe what they do as having primarily cardio-based benefits (vs focusing on the self-defense aspect), their classes might not be very practical for what you're looking for.

Yelp reviews: Look at who's leaving the Yelp reviews and the things they mention about not just the teachers, but the gym in general. You're looking for friendly, inclusive places that are down to earth, and usually Yelp/Facebook reviews reflect that.

When you go to your trial class, ask as many questions as you want. Obviously, you don't want to disrupt class, but the teacher should be willing to answer your questions before or after class as long as you're not interrupting other students. Ask about if people there train primarily for sport, fitness, self-defense, or a combination of the three (and what the teacher's focus is on during the training). If you have any pre-existing health conditions, ask about them and if they'll be a problem during training. If they get frustrated or snappy with you for asking questions, it's probably not going to be a good fit.

What to avoid: If anyone at the gym seems unfriendly or snotty, give it a pass - training martial arts is really humbling because of how difficult it can be, especially at first. The last thing you need as a new student is someone making you feel bad for "failing" when you're still learning the basics.

Your mileage may vary, but I personally look for places that train one or two arts (or at least, have different teachers for the different arts) and I tend to steer away from places that describe themselves as MMA or mixed martial arts. I would much rather train under someone who's been doing BJJ for ten years than someone who's trained four different disciplines for two years each (or even two things for five years each). Additionally, a lot of MMA or UFC-branded places can be pretty bro-y (again, personal experience, your mileage may vary!).

Also, if people are talking about serious injuries like they're an absolute inevitability, that's a red flag. Yes, it is absolutely possible that you will be injured at some point during your training, especially if you decide to pursue it as a sport or do competitions. But if every person you meet is referencing broken bones and dislocations, pay attention. Your goal should be to find a gym that teaches students how to be tactful when training with each other so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of training, not a gym that lets its students beat each other into a pulp.

No martial arts gyms listed above that are near you? If there's a personal trainer or other kind of gym near you, it's probably worth calling or emailing them and asking if they have any recommendations for local martial arts.