Help me understand wake up/tech out into buttons/mashing in this game

Im in platinum rank, and I feel like a lot of my match frustrations are due to wakeup/tech into buttons. When my opponents do it, i get blown up, when i try it, i still get blown up lol. Even when i wake up super, i still get beat by their buttons, sometimes the super doesnt even come out and i get no animation or i get a wake up throw animation. With blocking on wake up, i eat 55 hits of pressure. Also, i feel like Light normals are stubby, I always feel an inch out of reach and get murdered for it. Should I be poking with mediums?

Thank you, i just want to understand so i can stop feeling frustrated and adjust