Oh, that second boss is tough... you need to have light armor Imo to really dodge her attacks... having a co-op companion on that one really helps... hopefully you're at the "secret" shrine that you need to drop down onto... from there you can quick-run right to the boss over and over again if you need to get the hang of her.
If you want to call me in for help, I'm Jinsai on PSN
BTW: The right time to do the Ki Pulse is pretty much exactly when you see the blue sparkles start to swirl around you. It's actually a pretty big window. One way to know with certainty that you're doing it right (and it's a good skill to pick up anyway, in my opinion) is the low-stance skill for two-handed sword that gives you a bonus to your attack if you time it right.
If you timed the ki pulse right/perfectly, you'll see a buff icon appear under your life bar after doing it in low stance (after buying the skill)
I picked this up, but I need to finish some other games I have in my backlog. There was a period of time there where it felt like there was nothing to play... Now I've got Nioh (almost done), I still need to finish off FFXV's end content (zzzzzzzz.... why am I doing this?), Yakuza 0, Tales of Berseria, Dark Souls III DLC is incoming, Horizon Zero Dawn, I want to grab Nier Automata but I'm not letting myself buy it until other stuff is done, For Honor, Valkyria Chronicles remaster, Ys Origins remaster, Rush of Blood, Resident Evil 7, Eve Valkyrie VR, Final Fantasy Type-o, The Last Guardian, Witcher 3... fuck I still have to finish I am Setsuna and Alien Isolation
I guess in some ways it's a good thing that South Park 2 was delayed to an unspecified date?