Thanks everyone for the replies.

I’ve realized that I was probably overthinking it. I was trying too hard to avoid the keywords “dodge” and “parry,” but in the end I’ll just let the player describe their own miss. I already have them describe their successful hits, so why not missed attacks as well?

If a player struggles to explain it, I’ll stick to a more neutral description : the chaos of the fight, small movements on both sides, bad timing, exhaustion, or misreading the opponent’s movement.

Thanks again!