Hmmm, now I'm confused . I'm English and have front / right and left / rear. I brake like a car does, hard on the front brakes and at the same time, about half as hard on the rears. This stops the car / bike pitching forwards and dangerously unweighting the rear of the car / bike and allows a controlled stop. If you somehow disconnected the rear brakes on your car and tried a hard braking manouvre, you'd probably spin out and die...