Where to Begin

Start slow!
This is a tricky question to answer but here goes!

Firstly, don't panic! Robot Battle is a really good way to start programming. Try to relax and learn.

One of the first things you should do is read the tutorial featured in the Robot Battle help documents. To find this, open Robot Battle, click Help, then Game Tutorial. The tutorial is very helpful, and should get the ball rolling with your own robots. After completing the tutorial, look for new ways to improve your bot. The commands, and  are good starting points. Implementing those event handlers will probably improve your robot dramatically.

Next, register on the Robot Battle forum, called the Registry. There you will find many experienced players who are very willing to help you.

Ask for help - if you don't understand something, go to the registry and ask!

Try new things! Once you have a basic working robot, try adding new features to it. Try looking at existing robots for inspiration. If you are happy with it then build another, slightly different, one and make them fight in Robot Battle! The more you do it; the easier it gets!

Also, it might help to try some of the 101 tutorials here on the wiki. These have all been written by experienced players.

Tips
Use the help documents included with Robot Battle; they are useful even if sometimes a bit cryptic!

If you can't do something; don't give up! Keep trying! If you get to the point where you cannot continue, take a break and come back to it later. Try and think of a way of doing it differently.

Again - Ask for help - if you don't understand something, go to the Registry and ask! There's no such thing as a stupid question. But please, try to include as much detail as you can. Include source if possible. You will probably get an answer fairly quickly. But remember, the Registry members are not obliged to provide you with a complete solution. Have good fun!