Technical Analysis is the study of price action. It doesn't rely on a company’s balance sheet or management interviews, it listens to what the market is saying through price and volume. While Fundamental Analysis tells us what to buy, Technical Analysis helps decide when to buy or sell.

At its core, technical analysis assumes that:

1. Market discounts everything – All known information is already reflected in the price.
2. Price moves in trends – Whether up, down, or sideways, prices tend to follow a direction.
3. History repeats itself – Human psychology drives price patterns, and these behaviors show up in recurring patterns.

This module focuses on the tools in a trader’s arsenal such charts and candlesticks. Candlestick patterns, pioneered in 18th-century Japan by rice traders like Munehisa Homma, remain among the most effective ways to gauge short-term market sentiment. From Marubozu to Morning Stars, these formations tell stories of fear, greed and indecision, if you know how to read them.

But before we jump into patterns, we’ll begin with a few foundational concepts:

• How to identify trades
• How to manage risk
• How to size your position
• Different chart types and their uses

Each upcoming chapter will decode individual candlestick patterns with:

• Structure & meaning
• Psychological interpretation
• Where it works best (trend context)
• Timeframes to trade it on
• Entry and exit rules

This way, you're not just learning definitions, you’re learning basic strategies to apply these tools in a live market context.

Let’s get started with the building blocks of trade identification.