Welcome newbie to one of the best and most intricate combat systems ever created. You will almost definitely struggle with it at first, but that's normal just stick with it.

Some advice, first thing you should do is go to the training room. Try out weapons until you find one you like and if you don't keep liking it, you can switch any time with no cost. The in game weapon tutorials are lackluster, but Arekkz on YouTube has some fantastic guides.

Also note that the "defender" weapons are intended for those who want to quickly get through the basegame and into the DLC content. If you want to get the intended experience, just ignore them. Or don't, it's your game.