Nine lessons have used terms like BOS, sweep, order block, and FVG — all of them built from the smallest unit on any chart: the individual candle. This final lesson zooms all the way in, then zooms back out to show how every lesson in this course connects into one repeatable process.
Displacement, Impulse, and Corrective Moves
A displacement candle is an unusually large, fast candle — the signal SMC/ICT teaching uses to say "this is a real move, not inducement." The rest of the price-action vocabulary describes the phases displacement sits inside:
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Displacement Candle | An unusually large, fast candle signaling a "real" move has begun |
| Impulse Move | A strong, directional move with little candle overlap — the expansion phase in practice |
| Corrective Move | A slower, overlapping, back-and-forth move — the retracement phase in practice |
| Wick Rejection | Price pierces a level then closes back away — the wick, not the body, marks the reaction |
| Body / Close Rejection | Price closes decisively through or away from a level — stronger confirmation than a wick alone |
Trade Walkthrough: Displacement Confirming a Reversal
Displacement Candle Confirming a Reversal (Illustrative Example)
- The setup — July 1–7 is a slow, corrective grind down, each candle overlapping the last, no conviction either way.
- Displacement — July 8 breaks the pattern entirely: a candle nearly triple the average range, closing near its high with almost no upper wick. This is the confirmation the down-move from July 1–7 was corrective, not the real trend.
- Corrective pullback — July 9–10 pulls back slightly, still holding well above the displacement candle's open (28.7).
- Entry — on the July 10 hold, stop below the displacement candle's low (28.55), targeting a continuation of the July 8 impulse.
The Full Course, in One Sequence
Every lesson in this course is one step in the same repeatable read:
Do I have to run every one of these 10 checks on every single trade?
No — this sequence is the complete map, not a mandatory checklist for every entry. Lessons 1, 2, and 3 (structure, liquidity, order blocks) cover the core of most setups. Lessons 5–9 add filters that increase conviction but aren't strictly required to identify a valid zone.
What's the single most important lesson to re-read if I only have time for one?
Lesson 1 (Market Structure). Every other lesson assumes you can label HH/HL/LH/LL and spot a BOS or CHoCH on sight — it's the one skill every later concept depends on directly.