Before embarking on a solo career in 2010, my first experience of derivatives was when I took a futures and options exam when working at Barings from 1992-94, and then when the bank came crashing down in 1995, it was index futures that Nick Leeson was using. This taught me early in my career to treat derivatives with a lot of respect because of the leverage, and never to average down on a losing trade!
From 1994 to 2010 I was as a broker dealer, trading on behalf of high net worth clients and institutions in global cash and derivative markets and taking various vocational qualifications along the way. The last exams I took were for the Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designation which covered technical analysis and behavioural finance, and this sparked my desire to want to trade for myself. However, day trading futures needs more specialised training apart from just technical analysis. Understanding the auction process, reading order flow, being properly mentally prepared and having a business trading plan are just a few of the areas that need a lot of work.
Here are some links to the futures trading and performance resources I have used to further my market/trading knowledge and would like to give credit to: