First, let me start by saying that there is no question that Dr. Sawa is "The Man" when it comes to
coins. He is a clever thinker and an excellent technician; not the most "entertaining" personality,
but I think most of that was related to the language barrier. I believe his from Japan, and his
English was rough. In fact, Max Maven translated/clarified much of the explanations. Putting that
aside, the question is how valuable is this DVD to you, is it not?
If you're a card guy
wanting to move to coins, skip it. It's too advanced. I believe it was Malini who was famous for
setting up crazy effects and scenarios and "traps" so to speak that would allow him to do a miracle
should the opportunity arise. However, most times, he wasn't able to take advantage of his elaborate
set up.
Nevertheless, when he did get that "lucky break" he had a freakin' miracle on his
hands, and I'm talking water-to-wine, loaves-and-fishes kind of miracle. What made his miracles such
miracles is that people would never "suspect, let alone detect" (thank you Erdnase) that he anyone
who actually go through the incredibly crazy set up that he did just to do a card trick.
That's sort of how I see Dr. Sawa. The effects are amazing, but the methods are even more
amazing. Without tipping too much, there is an effect where you basically have to have, sitting in
your lap something like 30 or 40 coins. The effect is pure magic and beautiful to watch, but it
certainly isn't the most practical thing.
If you're wanting to learn coin basics, there are
so many other resources out there. However, if you are a veteran or even mid-level coin worker, then
you may want to consider this if for no other reason than the thinking and method behind some of
these effects.
There are plenty of out of the proverbial box thinking effects on this DVD
that you may get a kick out of. The odds are you'll never use 90% of what's in this DVD. Yet it's
entertaining and educational nonetheless. There were a few effects that were sort so-so, but there
were also some amazing things on the DVD. All in all, unless you're a die-hard coin person, I'd say
skip it.
