Shorthop

To perform a shorthop, release jump before the final frame of jumpsquat. Because Fox's jumpsquat is three frames long, you must press jump for at most two frames.

Shorthopping with 3-frame jumpsquat is genuinely difficult and takes practice to do consistently. Many players slide their thumb off the Y or X button quickly instead of pushing it down from above.

Shorthopping is the primary way to attack a grounded target with an aerial. It avoids some walling attacks like Marth's down-tilt, but is vulnerable to others,like Captain Falcon's neutral-air. It is a necessary component of many other techniques in addition to its own merits.