EXTRA DARREN’S TRADING ACADEMY ACCESS

Experimental Trading Methods Lab

Ten research-derived manual trading ideas for members to demo-test, journal and evaluate through Darren’s TrendFlow process.

1. Fisher Transform Reversal

Family: Cycle/reversal. Starting chart: H1; use D1 direction as the filter.

What it measures: John Ehlers’ Fisher Transform converts normalized price movement into an oscillator designed to make turning points easier to see. Extreme readings alone are not entries.

Manual BUY experiment

1. D1 is bullish or neutral-to-bullish; do not buy against a strong D1 sell state.
2. On H1, Fisher reaches a lower extreme and then crosses above its trigger line after the candle closes.
3. Price rejects support, a prior swing low or the 50%–73% Fibonacci pullback area.
4. Enter above the confirmation candle high.
5. Stop below the confirmed swing low plus a small spread/ATR buffer.
6. Target 1 at 1R; Target 2 at the previous H1 swing high or 2R.

SELL: Reverse the logic at resistance after an upper extreme and a closed bearish Fisher cross.

Invalid: Extreme reading without price rejection, strong opposing trend, high-impact news window, or entry before the cross candle closes.

Research source: John F. Ehlers, Using the Fisher Transform

2. Mass Index Reversal Bulge

Family: Volatility/reversal warning. Starting chart: H1 or H4.

What it measures: Donald Dorsey’s Mass Index studies the expansion and contraction of the high-low range. It warns that reversal conditions may be developing but does not supply direction by itself.

Manual setup

1. Wait for a completed “reversal bulge” according to the indicator’s standard settings.
2. Determine direction separately with price structure and SMA 50/200.
3. BUY only after a bullish structure break or reclaim above the confirmation candle high.
4. SELL only after a bearish structure break or close below the confirmation candle low.
5. Stop beyond the swing that created the reversal signal.
6. Take partial profit at 1R and trail toward the next major structure level.

Invalid: Treating the bulge as an automatic buy/sell, entering in the middle of a range, or trading without a directional price trigger.

Research source: Donald Dorsey, The Mass Index

3. Schaff Trend Cycle Pullback

Family: Trend/momentum-cycle. Starting chart: H1 with D1 alignment.

What it measures: The Schaff Trend Cycle combines MACD-style trend information with a cycle calculation to react faster than a basic MACD cross.

Manual BUY experiment

1. Price and SMA 50 are above SMA 200 on the controlling timeframe.
2. STC pulls into its lower zone during a price pullback—not during a confirmed downtrend.
3. Wait for STC to turn upward and the H1 candle to close bullish.
4. Enter above the confirmation candle; stop below the pullback swing.
5. Target the prior high, then trail only after 1R is protected.

SELL: Price/SMA structure bearish, STC rallies into its upper zone, turns down and confirms with a completed bearish candle.

Invalid: Flat SMA structure, repeated whipsaws, signal directly into nearby support/resistance, or late entry after an extended candle.

Research source: Doug Schaff concept discussed in Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities

4. Connors RSI(2) Trend Mean Reversion

Family: Short-term mean reversion inside a larger trend. Starting chart: H1 for testing; adapt the original daily-market concept cautiously for FX.

Manual BUY experiment

1. Price is above SMA 200 and the larger trend is bullish.
2. RSI(2) falls below 5 after a pullback.
3. Do not buy immediately; require a bullish rejection candle or close back above the prior candle high.
4. Stop below the pullback swing low.
5. Exit at the 5-period moving average, 1.5R–2R, or the prior high—whichever is reached under the written test plan.

SELL: Price below SMA 200, RSI(2) above 95, then a completed bearish rejection trigger.

TrendFlow safety adaptation: The published equity-style method is often described without a hard stop. Our experimental FX version always requires one.

Invalid: RSI extreme against a strong breakout, high-news spike, or no completed reversal candle.

Method reference: RSI(2) strategy based on Larry Connors’ work

5. Ehlers Center of Gravity Turn

Family: Cycle-turn oscillator. Starting chart: H1 in balanced or gently trending markets.

What it measures: The Center of Gravity oscillator uses weighted recent prices to highlight potential turning points with limited lag.

Manual experiment

1. Identify a clear H1 support/resistance zone or Fibonacci pullback location.
2. BUY when the Center of Gravity line crosses its trigger upward at support and price closes above the confirmation candle high.
3. SELL when it crosses down at resistance and price closes below the confirmation candle low.
4. Stop beyond the rejected swing.
5. Target the range midpoint first, then the opposite range boundary or 2R.

Invalid: Strong expansion trend with no pullback, oscillator cross in the middle of nowhere, or a signal contradicted by D1 structure.

Research source: John F. Ehlers, Center of Gravity Oscillator implementation

6. Relative Vigor Confirmation

Family: Momentum confirmation. Starting chart: H1.

What it measures: Relative Vigor compares where price closes within its range and smooths the result. It should confirm structure, not replace it.

Manual BUY experiment

1. D1 and H1 are bullish or H1 is completing a bullish reversal at D1 support.
2. RVI crosses above its signal line after a completed candle.
3. Price closes above a local swing high or bullish confirmation candle.
4. Enter on the break or first controlled retest.
5. Stop below the retest/swing low; target 1R then the next resistance.

SELL: Reverse after a bearish RVI cross and confirmed structure break.

Invalid: RVI cross without price confirmation, weak reward-to-risk, or conflicting higher-timeframe direction.

Research source: John F. Ehlers, Relative Vigor Index

7. Optimal Detrending Cycle Turn

Family: Cycle/mean reversion. Starting chart: H1; use only when the regime is ranging or cyclic.

What it measures: Ehlers’ detrending work aims to remove the longer trend component so shorter cyclic turns are easier to identify.

Manual experiment

1. Regime Monitor must show range, transition or controlled mean reversion—not strong trend expansion.
2. BUY when the detrended oscillator turns up from a lower cycle extreme at support.
3. SELL when it turns down from an upper extreme at resistance.
4. Require a completed rejection candle and enter beyond it.
5. Stop beyond the range extreme; target the midpoint first and opposite boundary second.

Invalid: Strong directional breakout, expanding ATR with news, or no identifiable range boundaries.

Research source: John F. Ehlers, Optimal Detrending

8. Dynamic Momentum Index Pullback

Family: Volatility-adaptive momentum. Starting chart: H1.

What it measures: Tushar Chande and Stanley Kroll’s Dynamic Momentum Index changes its effective lookback with market volatility, aiming to adapt rather than use a fixed RSI period.

Manual BUY experiment

1. TrendFlow D1 direction is bullish and price remains above structural support.
2. Dynamic Momentum reaches its lower area during an H1 pullback.
3. Wait for the oscillator to turn up and price to print a completed bullish rejection.
4. Enter above the trigger candle; stop below the pullback low.
5. Target the prior high or 2R, reducing the target if ATR contracts sharply.

SELL: Reverse in a bearish larger trend after an adaptive overbought reading turns down.

Invalid: Using fixed thresholds as guarantees, trading into news, or taking every oscillator turn in sideways noise.

Research source: Chande and Kroll, Dynamic Momentum Index/Stochastic RSI work

9. VIDYA Adaptive Channel Breakout

Family: Adaptive trend/breakout. Starting chart: H1.

What it measures: VIDYA is a volatility/momentum-adaptive moving average. The experiment uses it as the centre of an adaptive channel instead of treating a single line cross as sufficient.

Manual BUY experiment

1. D1 direction is bullish or changing bullish with confirmed structure.
2. Price compresses near the VIDYA channel rather than being already extended.
3. A completed H1 candle closes above the adaptive upper channel and recent swing high.
4. Enter on the close or first retest that holds above the channel.
5. Stop below the retest low or channel with an ATR buffer.
6. Take 1R partial; trail behind VIDYA only after the trade is protected.

SELL: Reverse for a closed break beneath the adaptive lower channel.

Invalid: Wick-only break, very wide spread, immediate high-impact news, or breakout directly into major higher-timeframe structure.

Research source: Tushar Chande VIDYA channel implementation

10. Ehlers Bandpass Cycle Reversal

Family: Cycle filter. Starting chart: H1 only after identifying a reasonably stable cycle.

What it measures: A bandpass filter isolates a selected cycle range from price data. It is an experiment in timing—not a prediction engine.

Manual experiment

1. Use at least 100 completed candles to judge whether a repeated cycle is visible.
2. BUY only when the bandpass oscillator turns up from a lower extreme at confirmed support and price closes above a trigger candle.
3. SELL only when it turns down from an upper extreme at resistance and price closes below a trigger candle.
4. Stop beyond the relevant swing; target the cycle midpoint then opposite extreme.
5. Pause the method when the observed cycle length changes materially.

Invalid: Strong news-driven trend, unstable cycle, arbitrary parameter optimisation, or oscillator turn without price confirmation.

Research source: John F. Ehlers, The Bandpass Indicator