You're right. The pause is the most honest indicator, a breath the opponent lets slip. Watching that beat is like reading the wind before a storm. It tells you when the attack is about to come, the distance, the tempo. Use it to time your counter, to know when to keep pressure or to slip. In training, I set a timer on every round, forcing me to listen to that silence as a cue. The quieter the beat, the sharper the strike you can land. So, yes—read the pause, then strike.