Hacking & Security Noob, not a computer Noob

[gh0stinthesh3ll]

First off, great site. I've been through the basic missions and I've already learned a great deal.

But before I get into anything heaver, I have some questions.

I want to use a Linux distro to hack from. I also want to keep WinXP running because I am an avid gamer (tried going cold turkey to *nix a few times, but just couldn't do it). I found some info on setting up my machine to dual-boot Gentoo & WinXP (which I already know how to do) AND give me the ability to run either OS inside the other using VMWare (i.e. run boot into WinXP and run my Gentoo install through VMWare or vice versa).

Will I run into any major security issues doing this? Is there a better distro for me to use? Will I be able to "attack" the host OS from the VMWare one?