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As I have taken Kendo in the past, and my sister took fencing, I can comment on it for you:
*Learn a new and interesting skill (Kind of intuitive and old schoolish)
Both fencing and kendo will fit the bill here. Fencing will be cheaper, being you won't have to spend hundreds of buckaroos for the armor.
*Instill and maintain personal discipline ( I usually participate in team
sports, wanted to try an individual activity)
Both fit the bill here two, but keep in mind, both need an opponent to do it correctly.
*Exercise (cardio, flexibility, dexterity, some upper? body & arm strength)
Both are excellent in cardio, fencing is better in flexibility and dexterity (people who move like trees can do kendo pretty good), Kendo wins out on the upper, but don't expect too much(Chances are you will get really nice forearms and that is it). Both will give a workout to your legs though, with fencing more on the torso.
*I'm not too into the "sport" aspect, more into the skill set and training
aspect)
Both are sports and will require you to spar to get any better. When sparing, someone has got to lose. If you can handle losing to another person, instead of another team, then you should be fine.
As for teaching real sword skills, I put fencing in the lead. You stab with a rapier, and that is what fencing does. Kendo you have three targets on the body to hit, and it does not really focus on the correct form for cutting. One can almost say that Kendo is like hitting each other with sticks for points. But hey, how many of us carry a rapier or katana around with us for protection.
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