Thanks for your question. Starting a new club is not that difficult. You get a place and start teaching. You need to reach out to a regional federation and be an affiliate of it.
Once you do that, you can participate in AUSKF events so you can improve your kendo.
To become a member as an individual, you probably need to be a member of a dojo first. So it might not work for you.
California is one of the biggest kendo states so you should reach out to one of the nearest federations. They might be able to help you out.