Dash Canceling is the act of canceling out of a special move by inputting a dash motion right afterward. The technique is currently possible only in the Street Fighter IV series and Street Fighter X Tekken.
Description
The purpose of Dash Canceling is to open up combo opportunities for special attacks that would not be possible otherwise.
Street Fighter IV series
The Focus Attack can be canceled in this way, and can be used to cancel other special attacks before dashing, as show below.
An Adon player uses a Jaguar Crunch on Hakan to set up an EX Rising Jaguar, then Focus Attack Dash Cancels into the Jaguar Avalanche Ultra Combo.
Normally, the Rising Jaguar would propel Adon into the air, making it impossible to dash. However, if a close look is given, Adon is not yet airborne when the first hit lands, providing a small window for the player to dash out of the animation and set up the Jaguar Avalanche.
Street Fighter X Tekken
Super Charges can also be canceled in a similar manner, and canceling a Level 2 Charge automatically turns the next hit into a Counter Hit, which will crumple the opponent.