Swann Song

To hear Jake Swann talk about "The System" and how this system is, to use the man’s own words, "close to perfect as possible," is to swear the guy’s referring to something deeply and profoundly personal. Something that he attaches a certain amount of reverence to, much like a priest on his religious beliefs or a politician on his pork barrel. There is no room for doubt, and you don’t question the passion for what he believes in.

Which is definitely a good thing. Because we’re talking safety here. Motorcycle riding safety, to be precise. When you consider balancing on two wheels in Metro Manila traffic – which petrifies even F1 hotshot Jenson Button – the factor of safety in motorcycle riding then is something that cannot be overemphasized.

Swann is actually the president and chief instructor of the Motorcycle Riders Course, a – well, that seems pretty self-explanatory. He has been quietly holding classes at a parking lot at The Fort for about over a year now, almost weekly, and on average has eight to 10 students per weekend session.

The riding school is partly sponsored by Kymco, so students get to ride on bright red, 125 cc Kymco Pulsar bikes. Apparently, these bikes are perfect for beginners to learn the ropes of motorcycle riding, as experienced first-hand by a couple of members of the family who owns the local Kymco franchise. While some of the local Kymco owners were already riders, the others who were not understandably felt they too needed to know how to ride. So off to MRC they went, and at the end of the session, were impressed enough to offer sponsorship to the school.

The students’ profiles are varied and can’t be accounted into a single demographic profile. When we dropped by the classes last Saturday, the students included a young couple who routinely goes on weekend out-of-town trips aboard their Honda XRM, some beginners such as a guy who recently bought a bike and one of The Fort’s security officers, and a senior gentleman who’s a longtime rider and simply wants to know if there’s still anything out there in the riding universe that he’s yet to discover. Dodging cones at the parking lot and performing the exercises, all were under the watchful eyes of Swann’s and his two assistant instructors namely Lester Guevarra and Andy Rodriguez. All students too seemed to be having a good time, quite oblivious to the sweltering noonday heat.

Besides the fact that it’s simply because the students were riding bikes – as anybody who rides a bike will never fail to tell you – the source of everyone’s pleasure can also be attributed to the curriculum of the school itself. As Swann puts it: "We provide a low-threat, but a high-challenge, high-learning environment." Everybody gets to learn to ride without pressures and hassles. All part of The System.

The System is actually the rider training philosophy of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation in the United States, and Swann is the only MSF certified instructor in the country. Established in 1972, MSF has been the authority in rider training since. In 1986, Swann said MSF had to change the curriculum in order to adapt to the environment and thus make it more efficient. MSF tweaked it again in 1998 and in 2000, all for the same reasons. "Bikes were getting more powerful and better, the road networks have changed, cars have evolved, and even rider’s attitudes were changing," said Swann.

One of the core premises of The System is to teach a student to ride, as opposed to merely operate a motorbike. Swann said operating a bike means just being able to get from Point A to Point B. In contrast, riding a bike means being able to adapt to the changes that will happen between Point A and Point B. "And in Metro Manila, a lot of changes do happen between Point A and B," Swann said, almost ruefully. "The objective of the course is to provide the student with the necessary skills," he added.

"I know it may all sound so vague," Swann said, referring to the school’s curriculum and The System in general. "But that’s only due to the volume of information involved in it. It makes more sense if one actually experience it for himself."

Now being a recent convert to the religion of riding myself, I did the only logical thing left to do: sign up for the classes.

For inquiries, email Jake Swann at [email protected]