Anyone heard of Dagorhir battles?

We were at the park yesterday evening, and we ran across a group of teens and young adults engaging in “battles” using foam swords, other foam weapons, and foam shields. Some were dressed in various types of leather suits of armor. We had seen this group there before, and 12yo ds was quite interested in what they were doing.

He watched them for awhile and I briefly talked to a couple of guys who seemed to be in charge. They told me that it was a Dagorhir group and they have battles every Friday evening at that park. You have to be 14 or older to join, but they have a separate group for 12- & 13-year olds to coach them in battle techniques and rules.

The man I talked to said it was inspired by Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and some groups have been around since the late 1970’s. I did a search and found some information on it that supported that, but I’m trying to find out more about it since I have not read Tolkien’s books yet.

Has anyone heard of this or had experience with this kind of group? I would be interested in it from a historical point of view, but I’m kind of wondering if it’s just a bunch of fantasy fans who like to dress up and fight with foam swords…..still, it is sometimes hard to find appropriate activities for my son. Being mildly autistic, he is not always very coordinated and is sometimes slow to gain skills needed for sports. I’m always looking for things that he can participate in.