Surviving the Sergeant

Sergeant H has been with us for the past 2 years now... It's kinda hard to believe how fast time flies. Practicing with Sergeant H is something I dread, in fact I think it's something that most of the members at the dojo dreads as well. He likes to 'torture' the students with long practices with basics and hitting drills! As far as keiko with him, he's different... Even though he is a high ranking sensei, his style of Kendo is different. He seems to stick with the basic style of Kendo, and even though he is in great shape for a 55 year old man, he doesn't seem to be very fast... Although he hits really hard for sure, so hard that I can hear bells ringing everytime he hits me in the head.
Anyways, because of his lack of offense, I found it very difficult to get a good rythm when I am fighting him. Most of the time, the session turns out to be a long stale mate, with either contestant unable to get a steady rythm going. I think because my counter style thrive on the opponents (reckless) offense, it frustrates me when the opponent isn't creating the offense that I want. Does that even make any sense?
Anyways, I personally don't find my sessions with him particularly beneficial, other than increasing my stamina that is. However, I kinda view is my personal challenge to accomplish, a mountain to climb, sorta... I know it's going to be tiring as hell and perhaps a bit repetitive, but I gotta try anyways. It's part of Kendo after all...