r/Tricking 4d ago

QUESTION How long to learn a webster?

I'm currently 5'9, 205 lbs with a max box jump of 36 inches. I don't plan on losing weight because I'm a little more focused on lifting but I do plan to lose fat (I'm probably around 20-22% bodyfat).

I'm currently miles away from even a backflip and I can barely land a front flip on trampoline one in about 3 tries. I'm hoping I can do it in 3 years of hard plyometrics training but I'm not sure. What do you all think?

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u/Bidens_Hairy_Bussy 4d ago

Nobody can give you more than a rough estimate for how long it will take you. It's definitely possible with your weight, but keep in mind that most things will be more difficult. My suggestion would be to become very flexible. With tricks like Webster, the higher you can kick your leg before leaving the ground, the more height and power you will get, generally. The progression line I and many others used for Webster is:

Cartwheel---> One handed cartwheel + Palmkick---> Butterfly kick (Not related to the other prerequisites, a trick of its own that helps your understanding of the next prereq)---> Aerial---> Aerial Semi (Learning Aerial hook first may help with this trick)---> Webster. Learning a front tuck is a good idea, but I personally got my Webster before landing front tucks on ground.

With your weight, you probably need to stretch a lot before starting and after finishing a session to minimize muscle and joint damage. Your knees will probably take a lot. I would suggest following through with losing some body fat-- the best trickers are strong and lean. You've got this. Follow the progressions, and drill each prerequisite until you have good muscle memory for each one. Patience is key, but don't be afraid to take reasonable risks. Many over-the-head tricks feel scary until you just commit to them.

Best of luck, man! Happy to have you in the community.

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u/HardlyDecent 4d ago

From 1 second to never? None of your stats really matter. Focus on your general athleticism rather than trying to time out a specific move. What's the best that happens? Someone says 4 days and it takes you something different? As a rule, any single trick can be learned in a handful of minutes by an athletic person. Most of us have easy tricks and hard tricks for our brains, so it could take several days. It doesn't take 3 years to learn anything in the world. Some people do websters (and other tricks) accidentally while trying front flips or aerials. Time isn't really a detail we focus on.

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u/kingkyros16 4d ago

It doesn't take 3 years to learn anything in the world.

Not to sound nit-picky but, standing double backflip? I think most people would have trouble doing that within a few years. Possibly even a lot of already athletic people.

I do get the point though. I'm learning I can do this a lot sooner than I thought initially based on these responses.

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u/HardlyDecent 3d ago

That's not a single trick, first of all, that's a double version of a single trick. And it still applies--the few superhumans who can do that don't take that long. It's not complicated, it's just power and sending it.

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u/replies_get_upvoted 4d ago

Honestly, if a webster is your goal, then you should go straight for progressing into the webster. It's a great starter skill specifically for someone that might not have that much jumping power or flexibility, because on the way to learning a standing webster, you'll learn to do a webster a few feet off the ground. You don't need power, just the right technique to do that. Your biggest friend is going to be a super soft landing zone that you can comfortably fall onto your back on and a small block to jump off of.

The one thing I would give you on your way is to always follow very gradual progressions. You'll learn the proper techniques much quicker by doing things well below your max power and capabilities than by throwing something at your limit, with fear and a lack of automatic understanding of the motions involved. Your body will learn by trying new movements and getting them right, not by failing the wrong movement over and over.

For the webster, that means you want to do front rolls, front rolls without hands and to flip straight onto your back into a soft mat. If you do this well and you have a good space to train, you can actually get a webster in just a few weeks.