Actually you're not supposed to trade damage in melee combat. This is a really bad way of going about it. If you do it the right way you're not supposed to take any damage at all. Here a few tips to master melee:
- A well placed hit on the head instantly kill them
- A well timed hit can stun them (you need to hit them right before they attack you, you got a longer range than them)
- Get out of their attack range after a hit if you did not manage to stun or kill them.
But anyway thanks for giving it a try.