RickshawMan

Single-bar indecision signal. A long-legged doji whose tiny body sits near the middle of a wide range — the most balanced form of indecision: neither side controlled the close and the midpoint pins it.

Quick reference

Field	Value
Family	Candlestick Patterns
Input type	Candle
Output type	f64 — +1.0 detected (indecision), 0.0 otherwise
Output range	{0.0, +1.0}
Default parameters	none — RickshawMan::new()
Warmup period	1
Interpretation	Non-directional indecision, perfectly balanced

Formula

range = high − low
doji         = |close − open| <= 0.1 · range
long upper   = high − max(open, close) >= 0.3 · range
long lower   = min(open, close) − low  >= 0.3 · range
centred body = the body midpoint sits within the central 40–60 % of the range

A non-directional flag (never −1.0); a special case of LongLeggedDoji with the added centring constraint, so both detectors may flag the same bar. See crates/wickra-core/src/indicators/rickshaw_man.rs.

Parameters

None. Constructed with RickshawMan::new().

Signed ±1 encoding

Indecision flag: +1.0 detected, 0.0 no pattern — one feature-matrix dimension (the +1.0 marks detection, not direction).

Inputs / Outputs

use wickra::{Indicator, RickshawMan, Candle};
// RickshawMan: Input = Candle, Output = f64
const _: fn(&mut RickshawMan, Candle) -> Option<f64> = <RickshawMan as Indicator>::update;

• Always emits a value. Never None; non-matching bars return 0.0.
• Node. update(open, high, low, close) → number; batch(open, high, low, close) → Array<number>.
• Python. update(candle) → float; batch(open, high, low, close) → 1-D numpy.ndarray (0.0 on no-match).

Warmup

warmup_period() == 1 — emits from the first candle (accessors_and_metadata).

Edge cases

• Off-centre body. A long-legged doji whose body is not centred yields 0.0 (off_centre_body_yields_zero).
• One-sided shadow. Only one long shadow yields 0.0 (one_sided_shadow_yields_zero).
• Not a doji. A real body yields 0.0 (non_doji_yields_zero); a flat bar yields 0.0 (zero_range_yields_zero).
• Reset. reset() clears the has-emitted flag (reset_clears_state).

Examples

Rust

use wickra::{Candle, Indicator, RickshawMan};

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let mut t = RickshawMan::new();
    // Tiny body dead-centre, long shadows both sides.
    println!("{:?}", t.update(Candle::new(10.0, 12.0, 8.0, 10.0, 1.0, 0)?));
    Ok(())
}

Output:

Some(1.0)

range = 4.0, body ≈ 0 centred at 10.0 (the midpoint of 8..12), with both shadows 2.0 (> 0.3·range) — a rickshaw man. This matches rickshaw_is_plus_one.

Python

import numpy as np
import wickra as ta

print(ta.RickshawMan().batch(
    np.array([10.0]), np.array([12.0]), np.array([8.0]), np.array([10.0])))  # [1.]

Node

const ta = require('wickra');
const t = new ta.RickshawMan();
console.log(t.update(10, 12, 8, 10)); // 1

Streaming

use wickra::{Candle, Indicator, RickshawMan};

let mut t = RickshawMan::new();
let candle_stream: Vec<wickra::Candle> = Vec::new(); // your live OHLCV candle feed
for bar in candle_stream {
    if t.update(bar) == Some(1.0) { /* perfectly balanced indecision */ }
}

Interpretation

1. Maximum indecision. The centred body and symmetric shadows are the purest form of "no one is in control" — momentum fully paused.
2. Context decides. As a non-directional flag, the prevailing trend or the next bar resolves the direction.
3. Turning-point hint. After an extended move, a rickshaw man often marks a stall before a reversal or a range.

Common pitfalls

• Reading +1.0 as bullish. It marks detection, not direction.
• Over-strict centring. The body need only sit in the central 40–60 % band, not exactly at the midpoint.

References

• Steve Nison, Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques (1991).

See also

• LongLeggedDoji — the parent (no centring rule).
• Doji — the general doji detector.
• Indicators-Overview — the full taxonomy.