Trend following is without a doubt, the most successful trading method. Strategies such as "buy and hold" are inferior, when compared to the amazing success of properly following a trend. Basically, a trend is an overall direction in the market. It can be an up, down, or sideways direction. Trends can be found on any chart. It does not matter what time frame it is. Let us consider a daily chart in the futures market. This means each bar represents one full day of trading. A short-term trend could be anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. A mid-term trend could be anywhere from a few weeks to a couple months. A long-term trend could be several months to a year. The longer a trend is intact, the more significant it is.Every trader needs to have a trend to make money. You can not make money, if there is no trend going in your direction. There is a reason why only 5-10% of all futures traders make most of the money. The answer is, they use a trend following system, and implement sound money management. If you want to make a lot of money trading the markets, you simply have to think and act like those who have already made a fortune trend following. Properly following a trend means you can profit, in an up or down market. It makes no difference which way the market is trending. In fact, most markets go down faster than up. Trends in general, tend to go quite a bit further than most people expect. Momentum is your key to success. Trend following has nothing to do with guessing. It is totally based on one objective fact, the price. You do not have to worry about watching the news, making predictions, diversification, or concentrating on a failed method, such as "buy and hold". One thing you definitely do not want to try, is picking exact tops and bottoms of markets. With trend following, you actually wait until the market starts moving in a certain direction, and then you simply follow it.A complete trend following system would include rules for, entering the market, exiting the market, how much to buy or sell, and sound money management. Momentum can create great wealth. Just ask a certain somebody named, "John Henry". Henry is currently the majority owner of the Boston Red Sox. Henry is a billionaire. Henry made his fortune by implementing the proper use of trend following. I recommend reading the following books, "The Complete TurtleTrader: The Legend, the Lessons, the Results", and "Trend Following: Learn to Make Millions in Up or Down Markets". The author is Michael Covel, for both of these great books.