Apart from the trend being nascent or exhausting, there are always intermediate swings against the trend. These swings are an opportunity or a threat depending on your positioning at that time. Knowing what is a correction to the main trend and what is a reversal is an important analytical skill that one needs to develop to trade the market.
One aspect of these analyses, that new comers mistake is trying to be perfect in their understanding of the markets and trying to predict the market. The market is a beast that is better left alone, no need to force your wants on it. It does not care about your thinking. What a trader needs to learn is to learn about typical setups/signals that have a high probability of certain results.
It is a probability game that is being played in the market, period.