This is going to get it to great depth the front crawl stroke. In the front crawl action there are three major forms of resistance they are:
• Skin, or frictional resistance
• Frontal or wave resistance
• Eddy or turbulence resistance. (Diagram of the front crawl resistance) Skin or Frictional Resistance In the action of the front crawl, this form of resistance occurs because "new" water is always rubbing against the swimmer's body. One way this could be significantly lowered would be if the body could carry on its surface a very thin layer of surface water. In the front crawl action there are three major forms of resistance they are: Skin, or frictional resistance, Frontal resistance and Eddy or turbulence resistance, the last would be the Skin or Frictional Resistance. In the action of the front crawl, this form of resistance occurs because new water is rubbing against the swimmers body. One way this could be lowered would be if the body could carry on its surface a very thin layer of surface water. This naturally occurs in under water animals such as dolphins and sharks. To improve the resistance in the front crawl action swimmers can try to make their bodies as smooth as possible. Some examples of this are seen in the close fitting swimwear, oiling the skin and shaving the body and head. In the front crawl action the size of the surface friction will be determined by: the speed of water relative to the swimmers speed, the amount of surface area of the body, the smoothness of the body, the qualities of the water Frontal Resistance in the action of the front crawl the body is pushed forward through the water. This creates a wave of water, which swells up in front of the body. It should be well-known how ever, that this wave also assists in the front crawl action as the swimmer breaths behind the wave formed by the head, therefore keeping the head level and beneath the water line.