What a
foil or
saber director is required to do, when asked to during a bout. (He generally does anyway.) In these weapons,
right of way is required to score a touch, so how the referee sees the sequence of actions which happened is very important.
For example: We fence a foil bout. At one point, you lunge at me, and I successfully parry. I then immediately riposte, and you, instead of parrying my return attack, remise. The referee awards me the touch, and you shout. At his request, he reconstructs the phrase:
"Attack from my left is parried. Riposte, counterattack. Riposte is good." This means he interpreted my riposte as immediate and direct. Had I paused, that would have given you the opportunity to attack into it (an attack into preparation, I believe...but do not quote me on it, I am a lazy fencer.)
This is important, for it, in this situation, allows you to know what it is that you did that, in the opinion of the director (who is, for the duration of our bout, effectively incapable of wrongdoing) lost you the right of way.