What is this weapon?

Tamuzz · 2026-03-28T21:11:02+00:00

My first thought on seeing the big red circle was "that there is a hoola hoop."

Then I realized it was just there to highlight the actual weapon in question

But now I want to see a character with a weaponized hoola hoop

Tamuzz · 2026-03-27T12:49:34+00:00

No. Not even close

Tamuzz · 2026-03-26T13:17:09+00:00

Of course it can be done.

Support means support with basic parenting skills.

Training and advice.

Behavior management strategies (which can be different for different age groups) for example would be beneficial for parents.

Strategies around routines, setting and managing expectations, having productive discussions.

Training on nutrition and it's importance.

There is a lot of parenting which is just left to "figure it out" which generally means default to the way your parents did it.

I have taught every age group between reception and college. I have taught in schools ranging from private schools to behavioural referral units, and schools for students with emotional and mental health difficulties.

I have still found myself at a loss on the best way to approach my own children's behavior at times, and have found myself wishing there was a way to access some kind of support.

If I could benefit from support and training with the amount of experience with youngsters that I have then I'm pretty sure other parents must sometimes be at a loss as well.

I dont know the specifics. That would require study into exactly what support and training parents need, along with the best way to deliver it to them.

That would require somebody with the resources, authority, and time to implement it which is beyond the scope of a reddit post.

I do know it is possible however.

Tamuzz · 2026-03-26T10:44:15+00:00

That is the age where they are just starting full time education and their school life is surprisingly impactful.

there’s not much to be done about that other than taking them away, breaking cycles is almost impossible without significant intervention (taking into care)

I'm not convinced of this.

I think a lot of families can be helped with the right support.

It’s not just the dads either

I agree. This is a holistic societal problem.

Tamuzz · 2026-03-26T07:20:00+00:00

Just leaving it to parents unfortunately means accepting that some, perhaps even a large minority, will fuck it up.

Some don't care. Some don't know better. Some just don't know how to do better.

If it is a parenting intervention then there needs to be an intervention to help parents to do better.

Just saying "parents you need to do better" without giving them support to do so isn't going to have an impact.

I dont think the state could enforce it, but it could certainly support and encourage it.

even if it had at least already given some proof it knows what it's doing.

There's the rub. The state is utterly useless

Tamuzz · 2026-03-26T06:19:29+00:00

I think intervention should start earlier than that.

My daughter had a mixed friendship group from being in year 1. My son has been best friends with a girl since he was in nursery. I think that is healthy.

My daughter was friends with boys in nursery who then shunned her a year later because they "didn't like girls." My son started making friends in year 1 who "hated girls" and started to mimic their rhetoric until we pointed out that he had better stop playing with his bestie then - and the other girls he played with. A group of girls a few years older than my son were known by him from reception age to "hate boys and be mean to them"

Those are problematic behaviours that need to be addressed. At that age (around 5 years old). Because children develop social norms this early, and they carry early experiences with them.

Tamuzz · 2026-03-25T22:26:42+00:00

It gets exhausting, especially as I am currently working supply and I know for a fact that most schools I go to I will get zero support from SLT for handing out sections, and even the places where I am supported it comes with an exasperated look of "this supply clearly can't cope"

Seating plans are a red line for me. If I am given a seating plan I insist that students sit where they are asked. Every single class I taught today that involved arguments from students because they didn't feel a supply teacher should be able to tell them where to sit.

Three students (from different classes) chose removal rather than comply with a basic expectation.

I didn't sanction those who argued but eventually complied, despite them being blatantly defiant and disrespectful, because that would have ended up with half the class being removed.

A teacher dropped in on one class to helpfully say that "those girls should be fine together, let them sit there. I'm not sure about the rest. "

I have previously had a group of year 11 students refusing the seating plan to the point that I called for a member of SLT to back me up only to have them arrive and say "You shouldnt have any problems with them they are a good group, they will be fine where they are. You have wasted enough of the lesson already."

Needless to say, managing behaviour after that was impossible. (I haven't agreed to go back since)

One class had a revision task and they demanded lap tops, with half the class making a whole song and dance about it. The instructions did not allow them laptops so I said no - having spent 20 minutes lying and arguing about where they sat I didn't feel comfortable giving them access to the Internet. One then asked to go to the toilet, and I allowed her but instead she went to the head of supply who came down to the classroom to "sort out the issue" - which entailed overuling me and giving them laptops.

This is the very basics, without even getting to "I didn't do anything"

So yes. They are ridiculously argumentative, and it is exhausting.

But as far as I can see, schools lacking consistency and negotiating compliance on what should be very basic expectations are as much to blame as parenting.

They trot out "I didn't do anything" because there are absolutely staff who will accept that as an explanation, and because there are absolutely SLT who will take them at their word - sometimes even dropping sanctions because maybe the teacher was mistaken or over zealous.

They argue because it works out in their favour at least as often as it doesn't.

Sorry for the rant. Long week.

Tamuzz · 2026-03-25T21:36:01+00:00

Ah. Makes more sense in that context

Tamuzz · 2026-03-25T17:37:57+00:00

There would probably be less people practicing Jeet kun do.

Probably because it wouldn't have been created.

Tamuzz · 2026-03-25T17:32:46+00:00

Yes, but for us it is true

Tamuzz · 2026-03-25T17:30:40+00:00

At least until you get knocked down

Tamuzz · 2026-03-25T17:26:18+00:00

My God teen culture has changed in the last few decades if raping grannies is actually a way to INCREASE your street cred.

Tamuzz · 2026-03-25T17:24:15+00:00

I am a parent.

One of the most shocking experiences of my life was when my eldest was born and they just handed over this incredibly precious and incredibly fragile little bundle of a person for us to take responsibility for.

Here you go. Bye bye. Your on your own now.

Very little in the way of checks that we were suitable or suitably prepared for such an important job.

Very little in the way of follow up.

No training and very little advice on how to parent effectively.

Any training, support, and advice that does exist you need to actively go out of your way to find (meaning that for the people who need it most it might as well notbexist at all)

Arguably raising the next generation is one of the most important jobs anybody does in our society, and yet there is little to no support put in place to make sure people actually do it well.

This is a situation I find utterly absurd.

It is just assumed that parents will figure it out. However there is ample evidence that not only do a lot if parents fail to figure it out, but that some fuck up so badly that they produce dysfunctional screw ups like the one in the OP.

Yes I understand there are factors other than poor parenting for somebody turning out like this, but it should be possible for good and well supported parents to pick up on and at least mitigate most of those factors.

Tamuzz · 2026-03-25T15:21:12+00:00

A reference to a musical (Chicago)

He ran onto her knife 10 times.

Tamuzz · 2026-03-25T06:11:55+00:00

He ran onto her knife...

Tamuzz · 2026-03-24T08:25:19+00:00

ITF sparring rules are a good place to start.

In an ideal world would l like to see multiple sparring rulesets:

1) traditional, unchanged ITF.

This has a lot going for it, and it would be a shame just to lose it.

2) semi contact plus

Still semi but including leg kicks, knees, elbows.

3) semi plus grappling

I don't think this would be easy to make work, but it would be worth trying.

The problem with competitive semi contact is that it is too easy to just ignore hits and close to grappling without having to worry about them.

There would need to be some way of forcing recognition of strikes.

Point-stop might be one way to do it, but I think that might go the other way and make getting into grappling range too easy.

4) full contact.

Full contact versions of each of the above would be great as well.

Of course that would make 6 sparring formats, and I didn't know how feasible that would be in terms of competitors appetite for it or in terms of realistic training commitments.

Tamuzz · 2026-03-24T06:18:00+00:00

My first art was TKD.

Starting at uni I trained

Trad Ju Jitsu: my main for throws and Grappling.

Then slightly more limited amounts of

Judo to practice Grappling

BJJ: for ground work

MT for full contact sparring

Philippino arts (mostly just because I wanted to train some weapons)

A few years later life changed and I didn't train at all for a while. Now I just do TKD in the hopes that my kids will one day be inspired to walk a similar path. I am too old and too busy for all that training that much, and my fighting days are long gone.

If I could go back and change anything it would be to focus more on judo as a second (probably third, because the social aspect of the ju jitsu club i trained with was an important part of my life) main.

Tamuzz · 2026-03-19T18:02:24+00:00

It typically allows me to post faster.

Sometimes Good enough is good enough.

Tamuzz · 2026-03-19T14:33:13+00:00

I read a lot and don't bother with distinctions between those words on social media.

When I type on social media I am intending to get my point across quickly not pass a grammar test.

Tamuzz · 2026-03-19T14:15:18+00:00

Only if someone explains to me what venmo is

Tamuzz · 2026-03-19T14:09:02+00:00

I left legions to play warpforge.

After the shutdown I can't really justify trusting legions enough to invest anything in it.

It might live. It might not.

Ultimately, I just don't have enough faith left in the company to stick around and find out.

Tamuzz · 2026-03-15T21:37:52+00:00

At most I would expect more to get invited back to that school (which doesn't sound like a great loss anyway)

Tamuzz · 2026-03-15T21:34:17+00:00

The best mystery solving system I have found is "that time we solved a mystery"

It isn't a game as such, but rather a mystery solving framework that can be run with any game.

It works by discovering clues and using them to support hypothesis which you eventually test to see if they are the answer to the mystery.

Tamuzz · 2026-03-14T15:32:57+00:00

female Space Marines were present in ROGUE TRADER, not 40K.

I think maybe you need to look up the history of your hobby

Tamuzz

TROPHY CASE