Translation
This play is called the ‘Peasant Strike’ and is made in this way. Wait in a short stance with the left foot forward for the peasant to strike with his sword. Immediately that the peasant strikes, advance the left foot to the left side. And with the right foot, traverse off the line, taking the blow in the middle of your sword. Allow the sword to slide to the ground and immediately respond with a blow to the head or arms, or with a thrust to the chest as drawn. Also this play is good with a sword against the pollaxe, or against heavy or light staff.
Explanation
The peasant in this play is your undertrained, over enthusiastic opponent. Caught up in the excitement of combat, they make an instinctive and powerful mandritto fendente cut from their right shoulder moving diagonally downward.
Draw your opponent in with a short stance if possible. As they make their cut, slide your left foot off to your left side and block the attack in the middle of the blade with a Posta Frontale as shown in the master play. Your stance will need to be quite wide at this stage.
Step through with your right foot, bringing it across the line of attack. You have effectively switched feet and stepped to the left. As you do so, use the crossing of the swords as a pivot point. Drop the point of your sword and raise your hands, as the drawing shows.
At the end of our move, you should be looking under your right arm at your opponent. The sensation is something like a Posta di Donna Soprano, except that the sword is over the front shoulder rather than properly chambered behind you. Your opponents sword will slide off to your right.
Make a second step to the left with your left foot. Where it lands will determine the distance of your counterattack. The further around you step, the closer you will end up to your opponent. As you land, your hips will be fully wound up.
Unwind your hips and use the motion to deliver a thrust or roverso fendente cut to your opponent. You will need to arc your right foot around behind you to a certain extent as you do so to provide stability and give the exact angle of attack that you want.
This play can be used as a generic defence against any weapon being used to make an overcommitted attack.