Can't let yourself get hit, like, ever. Having your combo break is not something you want to happen.

I never bothered with the minigame until last year when the Remaster came out. That's when for the first time I actually tried hard, and it didn't take too long before I got the 2'800. It was quite a challenge though, and it's interestingly built with how you can affect the frequency of enemies depending on where you stand and such.

Forget about the Cloister Gunner's Gauntlet though. Just no thanks.