The blocking sound is good, I think that the punch sounds are the real problem, they don't feel satisfying enough, I could barely distinguish them from the blocking. What really helped was the shield, super clever decision.
Would be cool if you could stun the enemy for half a second or less when you block his attacks, something like a parry system, just to pace the game. I get confused easily when we're hitting each other.
And keep the option with the old controls, personally I think the old ones are easier to use.