This was cool!
I really liked the idea! And perfect use of a game jam to test out a system/mechanic that you want to explore for in preparation for another project! Only feedback I'd say is that it would have been nice for a little more indication when your attacks land/when you get hit. The health bars go down, but it's not super obvious that they're going down unless you're watching them. Maybe adding a little flash effect on the fighters, or even the health bars themselves, would help a lot.
Overall though, great job! I hope you learned what you were wanting to from this!