Ok, wish I could help you, but I simply can't. I don't know.
As for the guard, you really need to lure him out by doing one of those blocks that flow into attacks. For the rest buttonbashing still helps. Quick successions of attacks and blocks. The guy does have a counterattack which really is lightning fast and pretty much unblockable, but he rarely uses it.
He's the most difficult opponent in the game, but easily beatable once you get the hang of it. Playing with him and defeating him using multiple techniques is actually one of my favorite pasttimes in the game
