Second against Third with the point out of presence

This is a wound in Second against a sword in Third whose point is out of presence (punta fuori di presenza). Both are in Third on the inside, and the striker goes to find the enemy blade. In that same time the enemy turns a defensive riverso through the opening he sees outside the sword toward the head and shoulder. Seeing the enemy blade turning in that circle, the striker turns from Third into Second, covers that threatened part, and in the same time pushes on to wound, arriving before the enemy blade has completed its turn. And even if it had fallen first, it would have found the defense.

All this arises from the slowness of the cut (tardità del taglio), which cannot wound unless it first leaves presence and line. Before it returns, the time is so long that one who wounds with the point may arrive much earlier. Thus Fabris is not merely contrasting cut and thrust in the abstract; he is showing that the circular cut gives away time precisely because it must abandon the direct threatening line.