Polearms have wonky animations, and a very common tactic is to veer hard into the enemy's left side, then release a right swing as they pivot into you. So they hit you with the shaft of their weapon, at double the implied speed, and at a different angle than you'd expect. This makes the slow, high cut polearms like the bardiches, glaive (this especially), poleaxes, etc pretty much insanely OP in the hands of a good player.
What you probably aren't doing, and happens to me sometimes, is you need to pivot and/or backpedal out of their swing to make sure your block connects properly. If someone is circling you and spamming you inside very fast, the correct block will sometimes fail as they are connecting with the other side of your model, or earlier than your block gets activated, or some stupid shit like that.
Footwork can really enhance your offense, but it is just as necessary for a good defense. If a good player targets you for someone susceptible to hilt slashing (notice a second of bad footwork for example), they will lunge at the opportunity like you were a wounded gazelle.
