I'll have to defer to your knowledge of correct terminology, as I don't understand your use of "legitimate" (doesn't meet the definition of Trend Trading?) nor "necessity". I trade the price movements (trends?) of a much smaller timeframe (seconds, minutes, hours). I identify and ride as many of the intra-day price-movements/trends as my rules identify as having a good probability of continuing their price movement to profitability. For someone driving their indicators on the close price, I guess I'd be regarded as trading the intra-day noise.
Just because you define a trend by time doesn’t make anyone elses interpretation of a trend meaningless. A trend on a monthly chart is simply a retracement or correction on the decade chart. A trend on a Daily chart is simply a retracement or correction on the monthly chart. A trend on an hourly chart is simply a retracement or correction on the daily chart. I make 10% profit on a trending hour chart You make 10% profit on a trending monthly chart. George Soros makes 10% profit on a trending yearly chart. Which one of us would win a debate on the correct definition of a trend? Doesnt matter what definition each one attaches to because we all made exactly the same return. There seems to be this superiority complex coming from traders that define themselves by time. Possibly because longer timeframe traders require scaling in and out of the market on a larger timescale due to the large amounts that are traded. Most retailers don’t have that problem (having too much money is a problem I would love to have though) so we can be a lot more nimble with our definition of what a trend is. The market is one big fractal masterpiece and we can define it any way we want. Beautiful innit?
I don't think that is what he meant, it appears that he's pointing out that "Trend Trading" is trading a trend over a longer period.
Not sure I agree with that, either ... (with the assertion itself, I mean, not with the fact that that was perhaps the intended meaning): I don't think "trend trading" is any more intrinsically timeframe-specific than "swing trading" is ...
He did say that 'If you have to be flat at each Trading session close, you are NOT a legitimate TREND trader.' Our definition of something only becomes relevant when we place it in contrast to something else. I can call him a scalper if I measure his definition against the decade chart.
So he did ... well, I don't agree with that, either. Humpty-Dumpty syndrome (of calling things whatever you like) is certainly flourishing at ET: call me old-fashioned ... call me pedantic/pompous, if you want (I've been called worse ) ... but I always think of scalping in the traditional, institutional sense of the word. Over the last year or so, I've gradually formed the impression that most ET members who describe themselves as "scalpers" probably aren't really what I'd call scalpers at all, and that the way(s) many of them are trading is actually further away from scalping than what I do myself (and I'm certainly not a scalper).
Im guilty of using the term 'scalper' with reckless abandon when I really have no idea what the definition is. Sometimes my trades are seconds, sometimes minutes, sometimes hours. Never days though so I guess by @bone definition I am not a trend trader. Im not concerned identifying and attaching to a particular classification. I just do what I do and quite happy to listen to the ongoing debate
Since why we are on the topic - swing trading by official definition and how nearly everyone identifies what defines a swing traders involves holding overnight. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/swingtrading.asp To older traders calling a day trade trend trading strikes us as odd. Traditionally trend trading implies you are holding from months to years or beyond. I have read a lot of CTA managed fund descriptions that trend trade, I don't recall seeing any that were based on intra-day trading. http://www.investopedia.com/univers...sp?ad=dirN&qo=serpSearchTopBox&qsrc=1&o=40186 A day trader can't be everything - or maybe they are? Scalping at 9:01, than trend trading at 9:02, than swing trading at 9:03. At this rate, the younger traders will start declaring day traders are also positional trading & investing. Just because a trend or reaction swing lows/highs be traded on intra-day charts does not make the trader a trend or swing trader, at least if you go by classic definitions of trading styles.
I must have learned to trade about the same era that you did. All of your definitions of a trend sound familiar. But over the years I have taken a different view on trends. Possibly because of my work with multiple time frame analysis or because of my teaching other traders. Can't really be sure. My new world view of a trend is this. A trend exists anytime that price breaks a trading range and migrates to another point of equilibrium. This migration is a trend. This can be ticks. Minutes. Hours or months. When teaching, this definition makes it easier to explain multi time frame analysis to a student. Perhaps my definition is a teaching tool. As long as we are all making money I guess it does not matter how we define it.
%% Some confuse trends with big trends; risk taking with gambling LOL. Even more silly + dangerous, others make up their own definition of things, as if math is multiple choice LOL. Some math tests maybe; but not math.......[I use Webster's old book dictionary; not saying that's the only one,LOL, but some modern computerized versions are simply wrong!!]