[Bruno]

You can let one hand go as a free action, but after that your weapon is Unready, and you will need to take a Ready action before attacking again.

You might be able to put together a "parrying kick" technique with Martial Arts, but I'd better warn you that parrying a weapon with a limb invites the limb getting crippled or cut off. An arm is bad enough, but a crippled leg makes you fall over, which really stinks.

I would recommend making Defensive Attack maneuvers (again, from Martial Arts) if you're concerned about your defenses - there's a damage penalty, but you can bypass the U this way. Otherwise, consider investing in good armor, extra HP, and High Pain Threshold, or as high a Dodge as you can afford and your GM will allow.