Just learned something interesting about Japan's trading legends that's worth sharing. There are two absolute titans in the Japanese trading world - BNF, nicknamed the God of Trading (real name Takashi Kosukawa), and CIS, considered the strongest individual investor. These guys have been tight for years and their stories are pretty wild.

Both got their start trading while still in university, slowly building from nothing into managing over a billion yen. They both made their mark during the famous J-COM trading error incident - that day CIS pulled in 600 million yen, but BNF absolutely crushed it, making 2 billion yen in just 10 minutes. That's insane money for a single day.

What's interesting is that in Japan's traditionally quiet trading circles, most traders keep their methods private. But both BNF and CIS actually shared their strategies, and other traders have been studying and applying them successfully. The more I look into it, the more I realize their approaches work because they're based on real market psychology, not theory.

Let me break down what made BNF trader so effective. His early strategy was actually contrarian - finding undervalued stocks when everyone else was panicking. From 2000 to 2003, the internet bubble burst, markets crashed globally, and Japan got hit hard. Everyone was depressed and losing money. But BNF saw it differently. He knew that even in bear markets, prices bounce around, and that's where the opportunity is. He'd identify stocks trading way below their 25-day moving average - like if the average was 100 yen and the stock was at 80 yen, that's a -20% deviation. When deviation gets severe, it signals undervaluation. He'd buy these bargains waiting for rebounds.

The genius part? He didn't treat all stocks the same. He'd set different deviation benchmarks for large-cap stocks, small-cap stocks, and different industries. This wasn't random - it was calculated risk management.

By 2003, when the market turned and started climbing on the back of reforms and global recovery, BNF trader adapted completely. This is the key moment - his assets exploded from 100 million yen to 8 billion. He switched from picking up bargains to riding trends. During upswings, he'd trade with momentum, holding 20-50 stocks at a time to spread risk. He'd buy during the day, hold overnight, then decide the next morning whether to take profits or cut losses. Rinse and repeat.

What's clever is how he'd use industry linkages. If one steel company started rising, he'd immediately look at the other three that hadn't moved yet, buying the laggards to ride the whole sector's wave.

Now CIS's approach complements this perfectly. His core principle is simple but powerful - stocks that have been rising tend to keep rising, and falling stocks keep falling. Most people think of the market like a coin flip, 50-50. They see a stock soaring and think it must crash soon. Wrong. The market has real momentum and continuity. Strong stocks attract more buyers, making them stronger. You have to respect that force, not fight it.

Here's what CIS warns against - the dip-buying trap. When a stock is on fire, people get scared to buy at the top, so they wait for a pullback. But in a strong bull market, that pullback might never come, and you miss the entire move. He also hates averaging down. If a trade goes wrong, admit it and exit. Don't throw more money at a losing position hoping it bounces back. That's just doubling down on failure.

The real lesson from both traders? Win rate doesn't matter. Total account profit matters. You're going to lose sometimes - that's guaranteed. The skill is cutting losses quickly and letting winners run. And honestly, the best opportunities come during market chaos. When everyone panics and prices swing wildly, that's when calm, decisive traders make their fortune.

If you're serious about trading, these principles actually apply across different markets. The BNF trader approach of systematic entry signals combined with CIS's trend-following wisdom creates a solid framework. Worth studying if you're looking to improve your own approach on Gate or anywhere else. Markets reward those who can stay rational when others are emotional.