Where to start

learn hardware and software and programming and networking then you will know how to get better at security/hacking

I agree with ^

Well maybe learn how to hack IP addresses which could be very hard and very simple it all depends on you.
And I also agree with cruizrisner.
Learn all that and done.
(Me personally am a hacker but every hacker has different style as for me I like to leave my signature and if I'm in a bad mood I'll really fuck up the victims computer:P)

lol when ppl say "hack an IP" it really is making absolutely no sense. there is no such thing as "hacking via their IP" but you can hack them with knowing their IP and other information but not by just using their IP. their IP is simply a location on the internet and not a physical object (unless you want to include their network) but the only way to hack the network is to get in their computer. most of the time people are actually DoSing someones IP or DDoS. either way all it does is create a temporary internet loss to the victim... not much of a hack really