Fourth against a sword raised for mandritto

The following is a wound in Fourth against a sword raised in the air. It proceeds from both being on the outside, and from the striker having gone to find the enemy sword, which could easily have been in Third or in Second. While that sword was rising to strike a mandritto at the head, the striker, already in motion with Fourth as he went to find that sword, did nothing but extend his own sword and advance the right foot, so that he arrived before the other fell.

Even if that cut had fallen, it would have done nothing, because in extending he had raised the hand enough to cover the head, thereby defending himself from the cut. And that cut, because it was made from the elbow, is very open and slow in wounding; this is what produced the present wound. Had the said cut been made with the wrist, then in the time that the striker wounded, the sword would have fallen onto the one that was wounding, so that in the figure one would see defense and offense together. Since it happened otherwise, here one sees only the offense.