I’ve been playing this game off and on, starting over since it came out. I was a hardcore Bloodborne player, but also played a lot of elden ring and ds3. Sekiro never clicked, I thought it was slick and the action felt incredible but I just couldn’t get past the beginning. Finally I’ve broken through and am having a blast, and its all thanks to Armored Core 5. Thanks Armored Core 5 (I will not elaborate).
I’m in the same boat as you were with Sekiro, might actually try AC and see if it helps. I did learn parrying recently playing Thymesia and Lies of P though, might help hopefully