Is there any reason to use the Attack command with an insect glaive?

Solution 1:

Firstly, only the Insect Glaive can deal damage by moving to a different part of the monster. Every other weapon will just reposition and deal no damage in the process. So for 13 weapons out of 14, attacking by moving simply isn't an option, and the carving knife is the only way to topple the monster.

Secondly, moving drains a considerable amount of stamina, while attacking does not. For monsters which require more hits to fall over, you might run out of stamina before managing to topple the monster if you're only relying on the damage dealt while moving.

Thirdly, you won't be able to focus your damage on one part of the monster. If you're aiming to break one specific body part, you might want to climb on it and attack with the carving knife to be sure you won't waste any damage on other body parts, especially with the finisher.