[Episode 7] Shōkinryū Maximum Drawdown 12% Evidence of endurance even in a gold market that repeatedly experiences rapid fluctuations
Maximum drawdown 12%. Few people truly understand what this number means.
Starting with 1 million yen,even at the worst moment over 11 years, it never dropped below 880,000 yen. From 2015 to 2026, including COVID-19 shock, US-Iran tensions, rapid Fed rate hikes, and gold surging into the high $4,800s, at no point did the account lose more than 12%.
This time, we thoroughly explain how exceptional the 12% figure is, with concrete data and comparisons.
Maximum Drawdown (Max DD) is the largest drop from the asset’s peak value. It refers to the moment when the account balance temporarily reached its lowest during the backtest period.
When evaluating an EA, max drawdown indicates how far it can fall in the worst-case scenario. Even if win rate and profit factor (PF) are high, a large DD means the account could be wiped out. Conversely, a small DD provides peace of mind that "even on the worst day, it will only drop this much."
Shokinryu’s max drawdown is12%. Starting from 1 million yen, the maximum drop is 120,000 yen. This was recorded as the "worst moment" across 11 years and 22,189 trades.
Even just hearing "12%" may not convey it. When compared with other EAs and investment methods, the abnormality becomes clear.
Max DD for typical scalping EAs is usually 30–40%. Fixed-nanpin can reach 50–80%, and martingale-type can risk wiping out most of the account. Even S&P 500 saw a 34% drawdown during COVID-19.
Shokinryu’s 12% isachieved with a averaging-down logic while keeping drawdown below stock indiceswhich is essentially impossible in theory. Maintaining this for 11 years proves the design quality of Shokinryu.
Gold moves more dramatically than other currency pairs. Daily swings can reach tens of dollars, and around economic releases or geopolitical events, moves of $50 or more within minutes are not unusual. Many EAs collapse in such rapid-change phases.
As gold price rises, the absolute price movement per dollar increases. A 1% fluctuation when gold is in the $1,500 range differs greatly from when it’s in the $4,000 range. Larger price movements require wider nanpin intervals, spreads widen more easily, and gaps from sudden news increase risk.
Shokinryu has all of these addressed in its designthrough automated measures. ATR dynamic nanpin automatically adjusts intervals with volatility; spread filters halt abnormal orders; and margin maintenance stop safeguards the account. No matter the price zone or market environment, this triple defense keeps Max DD at 12%.
A small max drawdown alone isn’t enough. How quickly you recover after a dip determines the true strength of an EA. Recovery factor (RF) is the metric for this.
RF 9.95 means “net profit was about 10 times the max drawdown.” Starting from 1,000,000 yen, it dipped to 120,000 yen but accumulated over 2.5 million yen in net profit over 11 years. The recovery power is overwhelmingly strong.
RF 5+ is considered excellent, RF around 10 is top-tier. Shokinryu’s RF 9.95 sits at the top tier. Only with both a shallow Max DD of 12% and profits exceeding 2.5 million yen can this be achieved.
“Dip a little, recover a lot”. Shokinryu’s 11 years condense to this phrase. This structure is not a fluke; it is built through a lineage of design choices—RSI2 strict entries, ATR dynamic nanpin, and triple safety filters—creating reproducible strength.
The number 12% may seem small, but watching the balance decline tests emotions even when you understand the theory. 1 million becomes 980,000, then 950,000, then 900,000. A fear that it may never recover crosses your mind.
Many give up trading EAs at this point. And right after they stop, the market often reverses and recovers. This is the most common failure pattern in automated trading.
The value of knowing Shokinryu’s Max DD 12% in advance is here. If your account falls by 10%, knowing the fact that “in 11 years the maximum was 12%” helps you stay calm. It prevents making impulsive stops based on emotion.
Conversely, for EAs with max DD of 40% or 50%, maintaining the same calmness is difficult. Believing it will eventually recover while nearly half of your account is gone is mentally extremely hard.
Max DD 12% also protects investors’ mental state.If you know you can stay within this range, you can trust the EA even when markets are rough. And continuing to operate leads to RF 9.95’s recovery power waiting ahead. Only those who did not stop can benefit.
How much does Max Drawdown 12% correspond to with your own funds? It’s important to know concrete amounts before starting.
If starting with 1,000,000 yen, a temporary drop of up to 120,000 yen is expected. In the worst case, the balance would not fall below 880,000 yen. If starting with 500,000 yen, the maximum dip is 60,000 yen; with 300,000 yen, 36,000 yen. These amounts are the critical thresholds to decide whether you can tolerate the drawdown period.
Whether you can tolerate these amounts is the most important point before starting. If you can tolerate them, you can keep operating the EA during drawdown. If you cannot, reduce capital, lower lot size, or reconsider EA trading altogether.
Know the worst-case scenario in advance.That is the first condition for sustaining automated trading long-term. Shokinryu provides this criterion with the transparent Max DD 12%. A “black box EA” with unknown inner workings cannot provide this reassurance.
GoGoJungle offers many EAs. Some boast win rates over 90% and PF over 3.0. Yet few people verify the maximum drawdown behind those numbers.
Between an EA with 95% win rate and 60% max DD and one with 84% win rate and 12% max DD, the safer long-term operation is clear. The former is built on “win 19 times, lose once and lose everything.” The latter loses once in 5 but protects the account and steadily grows profits long-term.
Moreover, the backtest period matters. An EA tested for only 3 years may not have experienced volatile markets. The 11-year backtest that survived the COVID-19 shock in 2020, rapid Fed rate hikes in 2022, and the US-Iran tensions in 2026—while maintaining Max DD 12%—is not something a 3-year test can prove.
The criterion for choosing an EA is not “how much you can win,” but“how much you can protect on the worst day”. In this sense, Shokinryu’s Max DD 12% is the safest level among gold EAs.
Max Drawdown 12% is an extraordinary low level for a averaging-down EA. Compared with typical scalping EAs at 30–40% and fixed averaging-down at 50–80%, the difference is obvious. Even after experiencing the most extreme fluctuations in the $4,800 range, this figure remains.
And RF 9.95 proves the ability to “surely recover after a dip.” For a dip of up to 120,000 yen, profits exceed 2.5 million yen. The recovery power of about 10x the dip is worthy of calling top-tier.
When choosing an EA, it’s common to focus on win rate or PF, butwhat truly matters is “how long you can endure on the worst day.”Shokinryu’s Max DD 12% is the eleven-year answer to that question. Next time, we’ll review major market events from 2015 to 2026 and explain how Shokinryu overcame each phase.
※This article is for information provision and not investment solicitation. The results shown are past performance and do not guarantee future profits. FX/CFD trading involves risk. Please make investment decisions at your own risk.
