Yep, it's a ring tool, which is to say a closed hook tool, and it's used like a gouge at 90 degrees to the handle. Most of us are fully aware of what happens if we turn the nose of our gouges up into the rotating work, so it stands to reason we don't want to do that with the Termite. Problem is, we use it down deep or underneath where we can't see it. Tactile feedback and a cautious A-B-C go a long way. As does tape on the handle to help visualize the ring orientation.
I think it's a fine tool for cutting end grain, and a reasonable tool for shaving along the grain as long as you keep the bite small. That way the shavings will go through the ring rather than clogging. Scrapers or tools like the Hunter, and other ring section tools which use a depth-of-cut limiter for the shavings have their own set of probems, but overfeeding, with catastrophic results isn't one of them.