At what point do I begin to wire and train branches for movement. Is it better when they harden or when they're semi hard? Or still young and green?

this is very personal as well as species dependend.

I try to wire all my trees at least once a year when the young growth is young and soft. However, for juniper, larch, pine you can still bend branches well after several years. With azalea, branches of a year old might already snap when you try.

And then some your green branches will happily be bend and twisted. And others will die once you put your fingers on. I would say: Get more specific; which plant/species. And/or work with someone who is growing bonsai well.

I wish I knew someone who even remotely knows about bonsai. No one in my area seems to care about it. So I Thank you for your replies.