Aloha, Al, & welcome to the forum.
My wife & I study Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu iaido under our Sensei who also teaches kendo. She trains in kendo, while I do not (I teach judo & European fencing, which keeps me busy enough!). Our Sensei claims that iaido & kendo are extremely complementary martial arts because in iaido, you only have a virtual opponent, while in kendo you have a real one who is training opposite you.
We both also train in Shinto Muso-Ryu jodo, where we most definitely have an opponent, & that Sensei is developing a series of iai waza that do not have an opponent, but certainly do prepare us for the jodo kata.
Does this help, or have I just confused you?
Ken Goldstein
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Judo Kodansha/MJER Iaido Kodansha/Jodo Oku-iri
Fencing Master/NRA Instructor
"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it'll annoy enough people to be worth the effort."