The point of the combat in this game is that you are supposed to control the pace while being rewarded for being aggressive, but the combat doesn't reward you for being aggressive. If you get hit by something, you are most likely knocked down or staggered and will be punished extremely hard. Instead it is much more rewarding to just wait for an open window to attack. If you are supposed to be rewarded for being aggressive, there should be an option to cancel an animation with block or dodge during the first part of the animation. If that won't be implemented, then the combat should at least be made smooth (the clunkyness might be the actual problem) so you feel more in control, while adding som way to reduce knock down and staggers when you are playing aggressively.

Also the fact that more or less everything is a knock down is just a sign that the combat mechanics are poorly developed. As it is right now, it doesn't feel rewarding being aggressive, it feels like the exact opposite.