I tested the range from seven feet away with an 85 centimeter sword, you still have to fully extend to hit. You can recover from that certainly, maybe more easily than what I had first thought, but we've already established this.

Also [@Vordak], I see what you mean with the push, but I think that he can't muster that kind of force, due to his arms being almost fully extended because of the strike and his chest also totally forward. There's not a lot he can leverage, right? It is true that it's not exactly weak on strong any more, I'll give you that, but Brennus is still in too uncomfortable of a position to really push down. 


A vertical cut in gran passata, moving your right foot forward. It's not a straight lunge but something like a downwards hack, lunging forward with your body. If you split that movement into two then yes, it's different, but in this hypothetical it's a continuous attack.