No need to apologize, you have constructive criticism and thats what I need! I just wanted to figure more of your view point.
I just tried it again and I do see the issue where it looks like you hit it but it didnt hit, I was apparently just ignoring it. I have an idea to fix it.
A couple tips on the knight, he has longer reach than black knight, the k thrust attack gives invulnerability, the L spin attack has really strong knock back.
You mentioning it feeling stiff has crossed my mind, I believe ill try starting the flow bar as soon as you press the button instead of waiting for the animation to pause, should speed things up.