Whoa. That's some good critique. I think you hit the nail on the head. I was editing the existing sprites, and that definitely does limit me. His left arm does move back, but I think the pose just makes it terribly hard to see it. I really like that sample animation you made.

I'll see if I can remake this animation so it is a bit more like that. After acting out the action a few times, trying to see how I could add more slashes onto it, it felt a bit awkward in it's current form. I'll scrap this one and restart and see what I can do with it. Thanks for the sample. That should really help in getting the motion down. I think the guy is stepping with the wrong foot, but the concept is helping me.

EDIT:

Something like this perhaps?



I decided doing a stab first would make for a better combo. Just need to make sure I'm on the right track before adding the third slice and finishing up the animation.