Ichimoku Kinko Yuo

[JC_Fernandes]

As an ilustration of what I did, using region colouring (please see http://www.ninjatrader-support.com/vb/showthread.php?p=18759#post18759) I built what must be my first or second NT indicator - the Ichimoku Kinko Yuo (please see http://www.kumotrader.com/ichimoku_wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page for details).

Because the indicator is not that simple, and I could not get code samples anywhere, I hope that my interpretation is correct.
Feedback is very much appreciated.

This indicator deserves some attention, because, from what I read, this is all you need to make trading decisions.
You just need the right conditions/tests.

Thanks and have fun with it,

JC

[Rollins]

Nice work JC, thanks for sharing.

[KBJ]

Looks interesting.

In trying to figure out what an Inchmoku was all about, I googled some of the names found in the indicator, and found the following definitions: tenkan-sen (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tenkansen.asp), kijun-sen (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/k/kijunsen.asp), chikou-span (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/chikouspan.asp), senkou-span-A (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/senkouspana.asp), senkou-span-B (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/senkouspanb.asp).

The full description in the article (http://www.kumotrader.com/ichimoku_wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page) referred to by JC is much more complete, however.

[KBJ]

Commented and cleaned up the code. I think you'll find it much easier to understand.

[JC_Fernandes]

Thanks KBJ,
I don't think I'm any good at C#/NT, really.
But I do get lots of fun trying!

JC

[KBJ]

I may have a slight advantage with 30+ programming experience in other languages, so don't feel bad.

What you did worked and that is a good first step.

[yimbot]

Hi JC,

Just been having a look at this indicator and reading the website you suggest which is very informative. It looks to me though that your Chikou-span line is sitting 26 bars after the price, where it should be sitting 26 bars before the price.

[rt-trader]

Thanks to both JC and KBJ for posting this indicator - it is intriguing.

In an attempt to better understand its application I have been googling away and as a result I have a couple of questions.

1. In every definition I have found for Chikou Span it is described as the current closing price shifterd backwards 26 periods. However as best I can see from the indicator as presented it plots the close from 26 periods ago for the current bar, which seems to be a very different look. So my question is, which is correct?

2. In a similiar vein the Senkou Span A & B are shifted forward 26 periods and in the charts shown in the link below are shown appearing 'in front' of price. So - question 2 is - Is that how the indicator is actually implemented?

Thanks

http://www.kumotrader.com/ichimoku_wiki/index.php?title=Ichimoku_components#Tenkan_Sen

[JC_Fernandes]

rt-trader, yimbot,

you are very likely correct.

I'll review the implementation of this indicator.
As I said in my original post, this indicator is a bit less trivial than your average indicator, so.... thanks for pointing that out for me.

After this what I intend to do is, of course, build a profitable fully "automated" strategy around it, and post it here, of course, although the KumoTrader website does not seem to agree that this is possible. But, without trying.....

JC

[JC_Fernandes]

KBJ,

I am getting an error when importing your version of the Ichimoku ("Import failed. There are NinjaScript files in the imported NinjaScript Archive File that have programming errors. These errors must be resolved before you can import the NinjaScript Archive File.")
Any idea why this is happening?

rt-trader, yimbot, and all others following this thread,

it does seem that my code is not correct, exactly because of what you said. It's easy to fix the ChikouSpan - using my old code (and until I can use KBJ's version) you should have something like
...
cs = Close[0]; <- new line
if (CurrentBar >= Period2 )
ks = ( MAX(High,Period2)[0] + MIN(Low,Period2)[0] ) / 2;
else
ks = Median[0];

and further down... instead of
ChikouSpan.Set(cs);
it should be
if (CurrentBar >= Period2 )
ChikouSpan.Set(Period2,cs);

Now, I'm still looking at the Senkou Spans, and there is a similar problem, but a lot bigger one (for me) :
ChikouSpan.Set(Period2,cs); means add the value of cs to the ChikouSpan DataSeries Period2 bars ago - my problem now is how to do the opposite with the Senkou Spans, given that I should have values in their DataSeries in the future, something like
SenkouSpanA.Set(-Period3,sa);
but, "obviously" this cannot be done. Also, according to the documentation any DataSeries "always contains the same number of elements as bars in a chart." which seems to imply that I cannot have n bars of prices + Period3 values for the Senkou Spans. Unless I can just shift, or offset the values of one DataSeries relative to the prices one.
Which still one not be enough because more bars are indeed needed ahead of the last price available.

So, because I'm fairly new to the NinjaScript language, I'm still trying to get to know its possibilities better before I get to a simple and efficient solution.

In the meantime, if the answer is obvious to you, please share it with us.

JC

[KBJ]

I have revised the code to plot the ChikouSpan 26 periods in the past, and updated the source found in my original post.

[JC_Fernandes]

Thanks KBJ,

in the meantime I found the solution to my problem with importing your code: I had created another indicator, based on the Ichimoku, that had KinjunSen, instead of Kijunsen - so, when NT tried to import it, and re-compiled dependencies this would not work - but sme detective work fixed it... as always.

I am still searching for a solution for the Senkou spans - how to set a value in a DataSeries x bars ahead of the current one.

Regards,

JC
JC

[KBJ]

JC,

The SenkouSpanA & senkouSpanB are being set correctly.

When the Ichimoku description talks about setting a value in the future, obviously that's not possible. But you can take a value from the past and use it to set the present value, and that's what the indicator does with this code:


SenkouSpanA.Set( ( MAX(High,PeriodFast)[PeriodMedium] + MIN(Low,PeriodFast)[PeriodMedium]
+ MAX(High,PeriodMedium)[PeriodMedium] + MIN(Low,PeriodMedium)[PeriodMedium] ) / 4 );
The expression "[PeriodMedium]" means to take the value from PeriodMedium bars back, and that value is set as the current value for the SenkouSpanA. When looking at it from the viewpoint of when the MAX and MIN values were found, the plot is in the future relative to that point.

I hope this explains it satisfactorily.

KBJ

[rt-trader]

Thanks KBJ,

Both for the explanation and the correction to the ChikouSpan offset.... it now appears to be plotting as it should which is great.

I have added the three lines of code below just under ChikouSpan.Set so lines are drawn from the current close back to the offset set bar and the last ChikouSpan plot. Also, the distance between the two appears on the chart. It allows for a quick visual on the underlying 'strength' of the ChikouSpan.


DrawLine("L1", 26, Close[26], 26, Close[0], Color.Blue, DashStyle.Dot, 2);

DrawLine("L2", 26, Close[0], 0, Close[0], Color.Blue, DashStyle.Dot, 2);

DrawText("T1", (Close[0] - Close[26]).ToString(), 26, Close[0] - (TickSize * 2), Color.Cyan);

[JC_Fernandes]

Thanks everyone for all your contributions and clarifications.

I think that my quest regarding the SenkouSpans was also driven by the fact that I had seen several Ichimoku Kenko Hyo charts showing the Cloud depicted several bars ahead of the last available price, as if "predicting" future levels of support and/or resistance, thereby allowing for possible preemptive actions, depending on the strategies.

In the background I will sitll toy with this (I thought about using Displacement=... but this applies to the whole indicator, unless...)

Anyway, as it is, it's already a very good starting point
If and when I come up with a consistently profitable strategy using this indicator I will post it here (It it works for me, and I prefer intraday FX, it might work for you all too).

This is indeed a great community of users,

JC

[marketguy2]

JC,
I never looked at this system before today. It looks like it can be very useful to my trading. For the introduction and for getting a really useful indicator to the NT community you deserve much thanks.

I will report here how Ichimoku Kinko Yuo is working for me. The real test will be on Monday.

Take care.

Bryan

[JC_Fernandes]

Thanks Bryan,

very much appreciated.
Of course, I myself am trying for good results with this indicator by testing a couple of strategies (one, a "standard", recommended one, the other less so).

As soon as I think I have good results I will post them here. (What would be the point of keeping them just for myself?!)

Good pips!

JC

[marketguy2]

JC,
Here's my thoughts on using Ichimoku. I trade intraday only at present. I am not a Trend Following type of trader. In and out (generally) for me. I trade the ES primarily and my primary trade trigger chart in a high volume/trending markets is the 3350 Volume chart. So, I am looking for pretty short term moves.

The Ichimoku looks really great for that purpose. At this moment, I have it on the 3350 V and also on a 5 minute chart (which I have up to track volume and for Counter Trend trades).

At this point, I will take only the Tenkan Sen/ Kinjun Sen Cross, the Kijun Cross and the Kumo Breakout and only when the ES has the volatilty I am looking for for this type of trend trade. The Senkou Span Cross seems more useful for longer trend following. I don't yet fully get the Chikou Span Cross so that's not happen for now.

I plan to use the cross of the Tenkan Sen for exits (unless I have a particular target or coming against significant S/R).

I'll let you know how it is going.

Bryan

[goldfly]

I think that my quest regarding the SenkouSpans was also driven by the fact that I had seen several Ichimoku Kenko Hyo charts showing the Cloud depicted several bars ahead of the last available price, as if "predicting" future levels of support and/or resistance, thereby allowing for possible preemptive actions, depending on the strategies.

In the background I will sitll toy with this (I thought about using Displacement=... but this applies to the whole indicator, unless...)




JC, are you saying that the cloud is not currently offset properly? Or are you just saying that it wouldn't draw past the latest bar?

The beta version (6.5) allows for at least the lines to be drawn past the most recent bar, if not the shading.

It might be that the cloud and the rest will have to be made into separate indicators, with the cloud loaded offset 26, which wouldn't be too bad of compromise.

Or wait..... could the "base indicator" call the "cloud indicator" which could already be offset? Or vice versa? Hmmmm...... I'd take a hack at it myself but my programing skills are rather limited.

[JC_Fernandes]

Hi Goldfly,

No, that's not what I mean.

As it is, the cloud, and everything else, is OK.
The only thing "missing", I guess because of limitations with NT 6.0, is that the cloud, because of the way it is defined, should also be displayed several bars AHEAD of the last available bar/price. (This implies that, although the information for the displayed cloud is accurate it is not complete, because the cloud still has more information AFTER the current (last) bar/price, as I said, but the chart in NT can only display information up to the current (last) bar/price.)

This "extra" information allows for some "forecasting" of how the market might move in the near future.

As you said, version 6.5 might fix this, but I did not have the time to check it out yet. I will try to do it soon.

I hope this was clear enough. If not, I'l try to rephrase this or else, please refer to the most authorative source I know about this, http://www.kumotrader.com/ichimoku_wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

Best regards,

JC

[Diem Trader]

I am very interested in Ichimoku Kinko Yuo (http://www.ninjatrader-support.com/vb/showthread.php?p=20969#post20969) (with PSAR).
Has anyone done any more work or testing?

[Fecdzo]

I am also interested in Ichimoku trading. I really hope that the the displacement problem of the kumo can be solved with NT 6.5. Is here anyone who can do that?I would do it if I knew how to program.

Looks a very very useful indicator!!

[Fecdzo]

If there is someone who can solve the problem of the forward time-shifting please let me know! (If it is possible to do it in the latest NT)

[Elliott Wave]

This does seem like a great system. Very useful.

Hopefully the issue can be fixed to allow forward time-shifting. Since this seems to be crucial to the development of predictive indicators, I'm sure the NT development team will make it possible.


Thanks again for sharing this. :)

[goldfly]

I'm sure this can be done. If you just shift the indicator forward, it plots. Except for the shading, which I bet can be fixed.

But I'm not sure how the logic for the calculations works out. I'm going to take another look at this and see if I can figure it out.

[Fecdzo]

I'm sure this can be done. If you just shift the indicator forward, it plots. Except for the shading, which I bet can be fixed.

But I'm not sure how the logic for the calculations works out. I'm going to take another look at this and see if I can figure it out.


That would be great! Try it with the latest beta version!I really hope someone will be able to solve the problem so it can be used...

[KBJ]

Hopefully the issue can be fixed to allow forward time-shifting. :)

I, for one, am not adept at problems of this nature. Has anyone tried contacting H.G. Wells perchance?

[goldfly]

OK, here's the best I can do. This is only of any use in 6.5.

I had to seperate the cloud into it's own indicator and when you load it you have to set the displacement to the medium range (for traditionalists that's 26 of course)

So the lines also have their own indicator but you can just load it and walk away.

Now the problem, aside from having two indiicators, is that the cloud doesn't fill-in past the last bar, but at least you can get an idea of what's there by the outlines of the cloud.

Josh, Ray, anybody...... what do I need to do to get the indicator to paint in the dead zone?

And Josh: I finally figured out what parameter you were talking about when I brought this item up to SBG on his square of 9 thread. And no, passing a negative number to the draw object doesn't work - the indicator just disappears. Is there anything that can be done to avoid having to manually set the displacement? Or better, to actually make it work as a single indicator?

[Fecdzo]

OK, here's the best I can do. This is only of any use in 6.5.

I had to seperate the cloud into it's own indicator and when you load it you have to set the displacement to the medium range (for traditionalists that's 26 of course)

So the lines also have their own indicator but you can just load it and walk away.

Now the problem, aside from having two indiicators, is that the cloud doesn't fill-in past the last bar, but at least you can get an idea of what's there by the outlines of the cloud.

Josh, Ray, anybody...... what do I need to do to get the indicator to paint in the dead zone?

And Josh: I finally figured out what parameter you were talking about when I brought this item up to SBG on his square of 9 thread. And no, passing a negative number to the draw object doesn't work - the indicator just disappears. Is there anything that can be done to avoid having to manually set the displacement? Or better, to actually make it work as a single indicator?

Very nice job! Thank you very much!

If I wanna see the time-shifted part of the kumo I just set the displacement back to "0"(its even better ;) ). Although there is no need for it because we only need the close of the current price and from there we draw the conclusion.

[sunman4008]

Hello,

Is there a way to draw past today's date? Is this a graphical limitation in Ninjatrader?

I want to see the Kumo cloud future. Believe it or not, it is a key part of trading Ichimoku.

[NinjaTrader_Ray]

In 6.5 its possible to manually draw in the right side margin however, its not possible to programatically draw.

[bearrally]

Goldfly,

you are a genius... I've been trying to do this for 1 yrs. I am gonna test your.

do you mind if i play around with it?

Thanks

[goldfly]

Genius? Nooooo....

I've just stood on the shoulders of giants.

Hey tweak it up make it better. When you get rich remember the little people!:D

[eb486]

Is there anyone that could lend me a hand dividing IchiCloud up into two separate indicators, Senkou Span A and Senkou Span B (thus allowing it to be more easily used in automated strategies)? Thanks very much in advance.

[eb486]

Actually, scratch that, I figured it out. I didn't realize that you could test/use just one element of a complex indicator in the Strategy Wizard (but apparently you can).

[tailgunner]

I currently use Ichimoku in my ensign charts; and would kike to add your Ichimoku study ot NT6.5; I extacted your winzip; thought i could just drop the Ichimoku.cs the indicators folder; but it does not show up; what stops do i take to add this to my ninja indictors? TIA...Tailgunner

[NinjaTrader_Jason]

Please follow the instructions at the link below to import NinjaScript files.
http://www.ninjatrader.com/support/helpGuides/HelpGuideV6/helpguide.html?Import1

[tailgunner]

thanks for your prompt reply jason; i have completed the import and have the indicator installed

[mrmagoo]

I am getting an error when importing your version of the Ichimoku ("Import failed. There are NinjaScript files in the imported NinjaScript Archive File that have programming errors. These errors must be resolved before you can import the NinjaScript Archive File.")

Is there a simple way to import this file without be blocked by this error message?

Thanks, David

[NinjaTrader_Ben]

Hello,

No, you just resolve the errors:
Please follow the instructions below to see where the errors are coming from after compiling the indicator. This will allow you to debug the indicator/strategy or remove it from your PC. If you are wondering why you receive an error when compiling only one indicator, it is because NinjaTrader compiles all indicators and strategies- not just one.

Open NinjaTrader
From the Control Center select the Tools menu--> select the Edit NinjaScript menu item--> select Indicator
Select an indicator and double click on it.
A new window will appear and you will need to right click in the window and select Compile to compile the indicators.
At the bottom of the window a new section will appear were you can find the error locations.
From there you have the option to remove the indicator or debug it.Let me know if this does the trick for you.

[mrmagoo]

Ben,

There is no "Edit Ninjascript" menu item listed when I click on tools. ??? What do I do?

David

[NinjaTrader_Josh]

David,

Please send a note into support [at] ninjatrader [dot] com with the license key you are currently using for your NinjaTrader and mention that you do not have NinjaScript.

[mrmagoo]

Josh,

I have attached a file showing the window where I apparently should be able to remove or debug the program error files, but no such "remove or debug" option appears available.

So, where do I go from here, since I can't resolve the (remove or debug) the programming errors?

[NinjaTrader_Josh]

Sorry I don't see the attachment here mrmagoo.

[mrmagoo]

Josh,

Please try this for the screenshot.

http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/7167/ninjaw.png

[NinjaTrader_Josh]

mrmagoo,

I'm going to need to see the full error. If you could expand the cell or hover your mouse over it that should show the full text. You should be able to select the cell and press Ctrl+C to copy paste it too.

[mrmagoo]

Josh,

Okay, try this one.

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/6899/nin.png

David

[NinjaTrader_Josh]

David,

Looks like 3rd party components. Have you installed 3rd party assemblies to your NinjaTrader? Please try removing them. Go to File->Utilities->Remove NinjaScript Assembly.

[werido]

Commented and cleaned up the code. I think you'll find it much easier to understand.

Thanks guys for this indicator! was just noticing though that the chikou span line which is the price shifted back 26 is just missing the last period so that it is the price shifted back but without the current price. This can be significant if you are looking to trigger an order based on the chikou span crossing over something, because it will be one step behind. How can I change this so that it is the real-time reflection of the price and not the shadow of the close, or is this a real-time limitation of the charting?

[KBJ]

I just got this message as an email from user 123r34:

I use MT4 and it has a good version of Ichimoku. I also have a license for NT. I downloaded your version of Ichimoku from the shared indicators site. I think you presented it last year. Is this the latest version or has there been any updates that you know of since then?

Thank you

MarkAlthough I do accept emails on various topics, I think it's more appropriate to answer this query here, where all forum members will be able to see my reply.

So, Mark, thanks for the interest.

My own particular contributions were in mainly making the code more understandable by simplifying it where possible and in applying my own unique style of commenting it nearly to death. At the time I was trying to figure out what the Ichimoku really did (i.e., I was trying to understand the math in relation to market price movements), and once I'd done that I thought I'd save others the trouble of doing this all over again.

But in looking at it again, I guess there was a bit more that I did, since the Plot method that JC_Fernandes originally used (http://www.ninjatrader-support2.com/vb/showpost.php?p=18758&postcount=8) was one that I spent over a week debugging over a year earlier in the Summer of 2007 (when JC asked for it, I posted it and later deleted it because the client I wrote it for reminded me that it was supposed to be proprietary -- nevertheless the design and code is now part of a number of other people's indicators including this one and roonius's SlingShot (http://www.ninjatrader-support2.com/vb/showthread.php?t=12141) - of course my work at the time was based on the Plot method found in uacvax's earlier conversions of the TRO indicators - thanks Josh.)

Since then I haven't done much with the indicator or the code. Although a few others have found my Plot method that I did to be useful because it colors in between two lines and displays in two different colors.

Please note that if you click on the forum's "Search" button and look for "Ichimoku" you'll currently find a dozen threads which discuss the Ichimoku and one in particular entitled Ichimoku Additions (http://www.ninjatrader-support2.com/vb/showthread.php?t=19220) is quite recent and looks interesting, although I haven't tried it yet (and I guess I should feel complimented that it, too, includes my original Plot method code to color in the "cloud" - including comments and typos and all not just once, but twice.)

[DinoSchu]

Hello , I was under the impression that the Cloud (span a and b ) needs to be 26 periods ahead as well . I see the you reset the CH line but, when I try to put the displacement 26 periods forward for the cloud the other two lines go with it . can someone assist me on how I can move the span a and b 26 forward with out moving T and K lines .

[quantus75]

Hello , I was under the impression that the Cloud (span a and b ) needs to be 26 periods ahead as well . I see the you reset the CH line but, when I try to put the displacement 26 periods forward for the cloud the other two lines go with it . can someone assist me on how I can move the span a and b 26 forward with out moving T and K lines .

Dear DinoSchu,

please download the latest Indi here: http://www.ninjatrader.com/support/forum/showpost.php?p=32734&postcount=28

This file spreads the Indikator in two Indikators. After installing the script go to "Indicator" and choose the "IchiCloud" and set the Displacement to 26. After that choose the "IchiLines" and change nothing there.

Now you have your future cloud and the other lines. I checked the Indi with the Ichimoku from my MT4 Platform and the values are the same.

Good job here.

quantus75

[DinoSchu]

Thank you for your post . I have ninja 7 . I already used that indicator and it works great . Problem is your cannot backtest in 6.5 without paying for it . Ninja 7 you can back test for free . If anyone creates this indicator for 6.5 or has any suggestions on how to convert that would be of much help .

[Indtrader]

Hi All

Using NT7 & Uploaded the Ichimoku2 indicator from this forum (thanks for the upload!). I'm setting the IchiCloud displacement to 26 (as it should be). The cloud appears initially, however, after scrolling the chart towards the left to see earlier bars, the cloud magically disappears. The following message appears in the log.

"Error on plotting indicator 'IchiCloud'. Please check the "OnBarUpdate' or the 'Plot' method: Index was out of range. Must be a non-negative and less than the size of the collection."

(screen shot attached).

Bizarrely, if the displacement is set at 20 or below, the IchiCloud stays. For any number above 20, it appears and once you start scrolling to the left, it disappears!

Can anyone help please? :confused:

[DinoSchu]

Indtrader ,

Hello , I ran into the same problem . The Ninja 6.5 Ichimuku you need to set the cloud displacment becuase it is broken into to indicators . The cloud and then line K,C,T serperate . So in that case you set the cloud to 26 periods .

In Ninja 7 version it all one indicator and the displacement is built into the indicator. So dispacement is set to 0 or else all the lines will be way out of wack .

My interest in Ichimuku is personal , but i am a broker at Amp Trading and this is our platform . If you are still running into trouble and you want me to log on to your computer to check it , I can . dino@ampfutures.com . I think that what I said above is correct though and you should be alright. Good Luck

[Indtrader]

Thanks Dinochu.

I kept playing around with it and managed to solve it. The issue was that I wasn't using enough bars for my data. Once I expanded the number of bars from 365 to 2000, and scrolled back, the cloud stays intact. Only when you get to the start of the data range, and it doesn't have the right amount of data to calculate, the cloud disappears. So its sorted for now.

Need to look for the Radarscreen (Tradestation) equivalent in Ninjatrader now :)

[greed999]

Is there a manual that can help accessing this indicators variables from a strategy?
Thanks in advance :)

Good job by the way :)

[h473652]

I am new to NT7. Looking for indicator. I have doenload zip from forum but con't have install instructions. Ned help installing indicator. Thx

[h473652]

how to install Ichimoku indicator from zip?

[calvin11]

Hello ...
Using Ichimoku indicator and my problem is, does not draw the lines ahead of the price, which kumo vision is real, but partial, and no periods plotted p2 forward, which will limit a major trading signal.
As I can fit this?
thanks ....

[Crassius]

Look in post #29 of the below linked thread for the solution to this problem.

http://www.ninjatrader.com/support/forum/showthread.php?t=6910&highlight=ichimoku

[Grasul]

Re-posting this from another thread in case anyone is using the indicator linked in post #29:

The calculations of the indicator you linked have an error in them I believe.

The correct calculation for Tenkan Sen is (Highest High + Lowest Low) / 2 for the last 9 (default) bars.

The calculation the indicator is using is:

TenkanSen.Set((MAX(Fast)[0] + MIN(Fast)[0])* 0.5);


which translates to (Highest Close + Lowest Close) / 2 which of course is not the same thing.

The correct calculation for Tenkan Sen is:

TenkanSen.Set((MAX(High, Fast)[0] + MIN(Low, Fast)[0])* 0.5);


The Kijun Sen calculation and Senkou Span B have the same error but are both also easily fixed.