Super Smash Bros. Melee/Intermediate Techniques

Shorthop
The shorthop is just what it sounds like: a hop that is shorter than a normal jump. It is performed simply by tapping the jump button very quickly and lightly. This is easier with certain characters, such as Falco, and very difficult with others. It is very useful as it can be used to pump out aerial attacks more efficiently, and is also used in many advanced techniques.

Wall Jump
Not everyone can wall jump. Samus, Captain Falcon, Mario, Sheik, Young Link, Pikachu, Pichu, Fox, and Falco are characters who can. The wall jump is performed by tapping the stick in the opposite direction of a wall just as you make contact with the wall. You will bounce of the wall. This can be repeated as much as you wish. It can be used as a recovery, or to surprise an enemy with an aerial attack.

Wavedash
The name of a certain unorthodox movement technique. It is performed by air dodging toward the ground diagonally (often immediately following a jump) so that one's character will slide along the ground. While wavedashing, most characters move as fast or faster than they would by dashing and is essentially in a standing ground position, meaning they can perform almost any ground attack immediately after a wavedash. Luigi can wavedash the farthest due to his traction, but this technique can be useful to anyone.

Wavedash can be used to dodge enemy attack, maneuver quickly, edge-hog, and more. Characters can use wavedashing to cover what would otherwise be weaknesses in mobility and defense - for example, though Samus' roll is slow and inefficient and her running speed is not very high, Samus' wavedash is fast and sufficiently long, allowing her to compete at a high level.

L cancel
L cancelling is a staple of advanced play. All characters can benefit from it. It involves pressing L, R or Z immediately before hitting the ground after executing an aerial attack. This effectively halves the lag time after said attack, and is essential for many advanced techniques. It also gives you a competitive edge over players who do not L cancel. Try to press L as late as you possibly can before hitting the ground; the timing is no more complex than that. Link's aerial down A is a good test move, since the lag reduction is very noticeable.

Shorthop Fast Fall L cancel (Shffl)
A term that does not really outline a particular move, but rather a combination of them. Performed by short hopping, using an aerial attack, fast-falling and l-cancelling, it is often the most efficient way of commencing attacks, although by all means is not always the best option available.

"Back from the brink" (bftb)
Link, Young link, and Samus can use their grab to hang from the cliff and come back up.

Chain Throwing
Characters such as Sheik, Marth, Ice Climber, Samus, and Mario (there are others too) can chain throw. This is just throwing the opponent at a given direction (up for Mario most times, down for Sheik, weird stuff for Ice Climbers and down for Samus) in order to catch them again. The process is then repeated many times, but some characters can escape chain throws at certain (higher) percentages.

Dash-canceling
You can "cancel" your dash by crouching (down on the joystick). This works well as a fake out tactic or if you don't want to attack with the dash attack. Dash-cancel to get your opponent to shield (in an attempt for a shield-grab) and then dash-grab. It also works for quickly picking up items from then ground and then continuing on running.

Dash-dancing (DD)
A technique that involves quickly tapping the joystick back and forth. When successfully executed, it results in the character rapidly turning around in the opening dash animation. Dash-dancing is used as a fake-out tactic because you can dash in either direction at any time.

Directional Influence (DI)
Pressing a direction while getting hit to change the trajectory of one's flight. Note - this term does NOT mean simple left/right movement in mid-air - that is a misuse of the term.

For example, pressing Up on the joystick will cause your character to fall slower, while pressing Down will cause him to fall faster. Correct usage of Directional Influence will help skilled players avoid combos, projectile shots, etc.

Disjointed Hit Box
A disjointed hit box is an area that an opponent can attack without having to worry about being hurt. Marth’s sword is a disjointed hit box. His sword is not part of his body, and if someone hits his sword you will receive no damage.

Double Jump Cancel (DJC)
Basically this can only be done by Ness, Mewtwo, Yoshi, or Peach (kinda). During the second jump you can cancel it with any attack. While you can attack during your jump with all characters, only these two can manipulate the second jump (I.E. You will STOP gaining height). Most characters have to attack on a set path based on the jump (unable to adjust the height), Ness, Mewtwo, and Yoshi can interrupt the jump in order to attack (and DI accordingly).

Edge/Ledge Guarding
The term for what you do when your opponent is off of the main stage and is trying to jump back, and you try to keep him off.

Edge/Ledge Hogging
Holding onto the edge of the stage, preventing an opponent from doing the same, as only one player can hold a ledge at a time. The fastest way to do this is to wavedash backwards into the Edge/Ledge hog position.

Fast Falling
This really isn't an advanced technique because it falls along the lines with teching (But since that is included, I'll also include this). Basically this is instinct oriented. All you need to do it press down after reaching the peak of your jump and you will fall faster then you would have if you had not pressed anything at all.

"Fox Trot"
With some characters, including Fox, the initial dash animation is faster than actual dashing. You can move faster than usual by initiating a dash (by tapping) then waiting a second then initiating another dash. A further advantage of the fox-trot is that you can stop the dash animation instantly without any turning animation (DDing) at any point in your movement.

Fox Team
With Fox or Falco on Corneria or Venom, press Left to Right several times on the D-pad. Fox or Falco should then kneel and call his friends. After a couple of seconds, members of the Starfox team will call him, and give him some tips. If Fox or Falco get hit during the summoning animation, or when the team is talking, the transmission will stop. This can only be done once per battle and only works in melee mode and training mode.

Kidnapping
With DK's forward throw you can grab someone, hold on to them, then walk off the edge to kill you both, or you can throw him after you've fallen a little then try to get back yourself. This can be done with Kirby as well: when an opponent is near a ledge, simply jump off the ledge and on the way down, inhale them.

Item Catching
Same as item grabbing. When someone throws an item at you, you can catch it by pressing A right when it's about to hit you (on the ground) or Z (in the air). A safer way to air catch is to air dodge and press Z when the item is passing by. It will still catch the item even though you're dodging. It doesn't work with ground dodging. The best way to practice is to throw the item against a wall and catch it after it bounces off.

Jump-cancelling
Refers to inputting a jump and then cancelling the jump with a grab or upwards ground attack before the character leaves the ground. Its most common application is performing a standing grab while dashing; a jump-cancelled grab can be used at any time while dashing. Jump cancelling also refers to jumping out of a shield or reflector: "Fox jump-cancelled his shine." Often combined with the first definition of jump-cancelling; if a character that jumps out of his shield but cancels the jump into an up-B, the act only needs to be described with one use of the term: "Link used a jump-cancelled up-B from his shield."

L-Canceling
This is a tactic to reduce the recovery time of air attacks. Right before your character hits the ground, if you're in the middle of an air attack, press L, R or Z to decrease the recovery time. Most noticeable on attacks with heavy lag upon hitting the ground, such as Link's aerial Down-A or Bowser's aerial Back-A; most players begin to practice L-cancelling with those techniques.

Meteor Recovery
If you jump at the exact moment someone is Meteor Smashing you, you will recover quickly and jump and there will be a little flashy graphic. It only works on spikes deemed official "Meteor Smashes" though.

Meteor Smash
Many characters have a Meteor Smash. This is basically a smash that sends your opponent downward and is designated by the game as a special move. Meteor Smashes, while powerful, can be meteor recovered. The term most people use to refer to an attack that sends your opponent straight or close to straight down, allowing you to get kills at a very low percent if your opponent is off of the edge, is a spike. This is different from a Meteor smash in two ways. First, a Spike cannot be recovered from, so it is much more effective. Second, it is almost always a characters Down-A (unless it is already a Meteor Smash). A good example of the difference is Marth. His Down Ariel is a Spike, and it cannot be recovered from. However he also has a Meteor Smash (On his third B in the Sword Dance press down).

Missile Canceling
This is a technique particular to Samus, similar to Falco's short hop laser. Before you land on the ground from jumping, fire a missile, the landing will cancel the missile animation and reduce normal missile firing lag. Samus can then use the missile as a cover for her approach. The lag from missiles can also be alleviated with the use of bombs. Drop a bomb, move away, drop a second bomb, and move back to the first bomb. It will explode and propel you up (fire first missile), DI toward second bomb which will explode and propel you up (fire second missile), then the second missile is canceled cause you land on the ground, after landing fire the third missile.

Phantom Hit/No-flinch Attack
A phantom hit occurs when a player hits the enemy at the very tip of the attack window. It causes half the damage the attack would normally cause, but does not knock back or stun the opponent at all.

DA Dash (also called Pivot)
This is a difficult and somewhat new technique (discovered by a member of the Deadly Alliance, a crew that plays in New York). It is not so much a dash as it is a dash-cancel. Performed by changing direction during the initial dash animation and immediately using an attack or other move otherwise applicable from a standing position. That character will stop moving and use that attack or move. An extremely useful tactic comparable or superior to wave-attacking.

Powershielding/Shield Reflecting
If you press the shield button all the way down at the exact instant you are getting hit, you will block the attack without putting up your shield and be able to retaliate immediately. The computer does this frequently. If the attack is a projectile, you will reflect it back at your opponent. It is extremely difficult and nobody seems to be able to do it consistently in a match.

Projectile Sliding
When using a ranged grab, such as that of Samus or Link, against an opponent and there is a projectile attack or bomb on the ground between the two characters, the character performing the grab will take damage and the other charcter will be propelled backwards with significant force. This can cause a KO on certain stages such as Mushroom Kingdom.

Roll
A moving dodging move performed by tapping the joystick to the left or right while shielding. Though beginning players tend to overuse it, it is an extremely useful dodging technique.

"Sex kick"/Hero kick
The name given (By MattDeezie's crew) to the neutral-A (meaning A without a direction) air attack of some characters. It is defined as a kick that sticks out and still hits people even when the foot is no longer moving. Some people use it as a term for all neutral-A aerials, even the non-kicks, but this is incorrect usage. Fox's and Falco's back A's are also considered sex kicks. A sex kick decreases in damage as the move is used multiple times with the exception of Dr. Mario's sex kick, whose neutral-A aerial actually becomes more powerful after the initial extension.

Shine
A term commonly used by players to refer to Fox and Falco's Reflector.

ShortHop Blaster/Laser
A technique that is absolutely integral to playing Falco at a high level. Performed by lasering after a short hop, it allows Falco to fire lasers while suffering very little lag and is vital to pressuring the enemy.

SmashFest
SmashFests are held by players just looking to play smash with other people (and maybe make some money from Money Matches). To find out if there are any fests/tournaments near you check the Tournament section of SmashBoards. Fests are usually held by high Level players or there respective teams. There are also events known as Biweeklies (Bimonthlies) which commonly lead up to Large tournaments in an effort to raise more fun for a better gaming experience (The Tournament Go Franchise). If you want to get your name out there and become more known in the smash community, Fests are the way to do it.

Teching/Wallteching/Techrolling
The name given for instant recovery techniques. When you (any character) are sent flying from an attack, if you hit L or R before hitting the ground or the wall (or ceiling), you will recover instantly. On the ground, you will stand up, on the wall you will stop bouncing around, and hitting the ceiling causes you to stop moving then fall straight down at a normal rate. If you hold to the side as you do it, you will recover in a rolling dodge. If you hold up as you walltech, you can jump off of the wall.

Triangle Jumping
Similar to wavedashing, except you dodge after you've actually jumped off the ground. This is very useful against characters like Marth in avoiding the attack (sword) while getting close enough in proximity in order to attack.

Stealing a life
In a team multiplayer stock game if you lose all your lives, and your team-mate has more than one life left, press the start button to steal one of his lives. This will not work if your team-mate has 1 life.