Modern Java combat (the 1.9+ system, still current in 1.20+) rewards timing over spam. Knowing the numbers is half the fight.

Attack cooldown

• After every swing an attack-strength bar refills. You deal full damage only when it is full; hitting early scales the damage down sharply.
• Different weapons refill at different speeds – axes hit hard but recharge slowly, swords are faster and add a sweep attack.

Reach and critical hits

• Player attack reach is about 3 blocks on Java. You cannot land hits from further than that.
• A critical hit (roughly +50% damage) happens when you attack while falling – not on the ground, not while climbing, and not while sprinting matters for the jump timing.
• Because sprinting affects your jump-attack timing, players “W-tap” (briefly release forward) to reset sprint, land a crit and add extra knockback.

Fact to remember: consistent, fully-charged, well-timed hits beat frantic clicking almost every time.