Absolutely you can make money long-only, even in a downtrend. Conceptually, think of a ball bouncing down a flight of stairs. The trend of the motion is down. But the ball will bounce off every step. That's a long trading opportunity. I trade a long-only system that thrives in tough markets because of the volatility. Further, no matter what anyone tells you, it is virtually always more difficult to trade short than long, especially for a new trader.