[@Fallenreaper]
Yo. Read the post and have some questions of my own to clarify some things but first I'll answer what you asked above.

There is no armor protecting Nicoli's knee, the armor is just above the knee, as covering/protecting the knee would greatly reduce mobility. So, if the strike lands there won't be anything protecting/insulating it.

You are pushing away with your right foot (your leading foot at the beginning of the post) and landing on your knee? How far back did the foot move?

What takes 2 seconds exactly? Do you mean to say that the ability takes about 2 second for her to charge up?