Here’s the first nugget from Nisons Beyond Candlesticks book.

(It’s A BIBLE and my Hot favourite Book )

“A single candle by itself is rarely sufficient reason to forecast an immediate
reversal” (21)

When you cannot see the state of your opponent, you pretend to make a powerful attack to uncover the intention of the enemy. This concept, as related to trading, is one of the reasons a spring is so important. 57

In effect, these traders act like the aforementioned “moving shadow,” testing the battlefield by entering a large order to try and break support (or resistance).For example, if a large-scale trader places a sell order as the market gets near support, their sell order may be enough to drag prices under the support area. Now, this trader, as a “moving shadow,,, will now learn about the underlying strength of the market. If the market fails to hold under a broken support area and forms a spring, these “moving shadows,”(i.e., the sellers who were attempting to probe the market), now have learned about the tenacity of the bulls and as a result may decide to cover their shorts. 58

Although this generally means that the bearish engulfing pattern is more bearish than a dark cloud cover, and a bullish engulfing pattern more bullish than a piercing pattern, it is equally important to see where these patterns emerge before deciding which is more important. For instance,a piercing pattern that confirms a major support area should be viewed more likely as a bottom reversal signal than a bullish engulfing pattern that does not confirm support. This vital aspect of viewing the candle patterns in conjunction with the overall technical picture will be discussed in depth in the next chapter. 76

Eight to ten record sessions are so important in Japan that they have been described as being “the bones of Sakata’s body.” The meaning of this expression is that just as the bones, or skeleton, of a person’s body are its foundation, so are record sessions the foundation or essence of the Sakata charts. 122
A book that I had translated states that, “Action that ignores the condition of the market is only asking for a loss and an ambush encounter.” This picturesque saying (using the typical military analogy so common in Japanese technical analysis) means that you must consider the overall market condition before trading with the candles. Otherwise, you may be in for a “loss and ambush encounter.”129
Effective candle charting techniques require not only an understanding of the candle patterns, but a policy of using sound, coherent trading strategies and tactics. It is unfortunate that some traders who know about the candle patterns often ignore such tactics. 129
“The Side that Knows When to Fight and When Not to Will Take the Victory” 133
“wait for time to ripen, waiting for just the right moment is virtuous, a patient mind or spirit is essential. 133
There will be times when you should not release the trigger. For example, without an attractive risk/reward ratio at the time that a bullish or bearish candle signal emerges, the trade should be ignored 133
quickly and effectively adapting to a new market environment, is a vital element to successful trading. 142
If a candle pattern emerges, does that mean that a buy or sell signal is automatically given? of course not. As I previously discussed, you should not base a trade on a candle pattern in isolation. You must firsi determine the overall technical picture at the time the pattern forms. 147
How you trade with candlesticks will depend on your trading philosophy, your risk adversity, and temperament. These are very individual aspects. 149