when the price is below the base line and especially if kijun sen is angled downwards that indicates price momentum is to the downside as the price is below the 26 period midpoint while 26 periods is typically used for this calculation this can be altered to suit individual preference a smaller number of periods such as 15 will track the price more closely a larger number of periods such as 45 will not track the price as closely 
the kijun sen is nearly always used alongside the tenkan sen conversion line to help gauge direction changes in price and to generate trade signals tenkan sen is the 9 period price midpoint since it is a short term indicator it tracks price more closely and responds quicker to price changes therefore when tenkan sen crosses above kijun sen it indicates that price momentum is picking up steam to the upside some traders use this as a buy signal this is a bullish crossover 