[Gigermann]

I'm surprised I haven't read anyone take this angle:

A Beat, really, is a "shove" attack on the opponent's weapon/shield/whatever. Seems logical to me that one could just as easily set up for a Beat by doing just that—attacking it—in which case, it would take effect if the opponent failed to successfully defend (and possibly, even if he does Parry). Assuming you don't care whether the weapon ends up broken—normal attack—or that the opponent drops it—Disarm—as a result of your attack, you would effectively be doing "Knockback" on the weapon, taking it out of position.