Mastering the Front Crawl: Technique and Drills

Posted on Jan 21, 2025 in Physical Education

Horizontal and near-surface: Maintain a streamlined body position.
Aligned: Keep your feet splayed, knees straight, buttocks and stomach tight, elbows extended, hands clasped, and head between your arms.

Rocking enhances propulsion.
Facilitates high-elbow recovery and shoulder movement, allowing for deep and effective traction.
Minimizes drag by reducing surface contact with the water.
Keep your head slightly elevated, with the waterline roughly at your hairline.
Look downward and forward.
Minimize lateral head rotation during breathing, as rocking will assist.

Legs contribute minimally to propulsion (approximately 1:4 ratio) but are crucial for proper body alignment.
Technical Analysis:
- Legs do not always move in a vertical plane.
- The kick should originate from the hips.
- Keep ankles extended and relaxed.
- Feet should not break the water’s surface.
- Ascending: Start with extended knees and ankles. The knee will naturally flex as the leg rises until the foot reaches the water’s surface.
- Descending: From the previous position, leg energy decreases, resulting in knee extension and ankle extension.

Arm action consists of two phases: Traction and Recovery.

Input: Occurs between the imaginary line extending from the shoulder and the body’s midline. The elbow is slightly flexed and higher than the hand. Once the hand enters the water, it moves forward, completing elbow extension. The hand can enter with palms facing outward and slightly downward or with the hand facing down and the wrist slightly flexed. Entry order: fingers, wrist, forearm, elbow, arm, and shoulder.
Grip: The hand drops about 30 cm, with the palm facing backward and slightly outward.
Pull: The hand moves inward and backward towards the body’s midline. The elbow gradually flexes. The pull ends with the hand under the shoulder and the elbow flexed at 90 degrees.
Push: The hand reaches maximum speed, changing orientation outward and upward. Gradual elbow extension occurs. The drive ends with the palm facing the thigh to facilitate water exit.

Throughout the underwater phase, the hand follows an “S”-shaped trajectory.

Recovery begins with the hand in the water.
Exit order: shoulder, elbow, and wrist.
Recovery is performed with the elbow flexed and elevated, and the hand relaxed.
From the halfway point, the hand leads the movement, preparing for re-entry into the water.

Performed by a slight lateral rotation of the head.
Breathe through the naturally formed “hole” created by the wave from head movement.
Keep one eye, one cheek, and half of your mouth submerged during breathing.
Practice “bilateral” breathing to avoid imbalances and a “blind side.”
Inhale when the arm on the breathing side begins recovery.
Inhale and exhale through both mouth and nose.

The most significant variations occur in arm movement. We can differentiate between:

Sliding Coordination: One arm enters the water as the other finishes traction. Each arm travels a greater distance (longer stroke, typically used by sprinters, 6:1 ratio).
Powerful Coordination: One arm enters the water while the other is halfway through traction. Usually accompanied by a two-beat kick. More frequent, shorter stroke length (used by distance swimmers, 2:1, 4:1, or 6:1 ratio).