Funny enough, but normally I don't skid to slow down or stop, just back pressure and front brake, but the few times that I've had an "OH Sh!!!!T!" moment where squeezing on my front brake as hard as I could was the difference between life or death, regardless of toppling over or not, my body reflexively skidded the rear tire a split second before I clutched the front brake allowing me to keep my balance. For those of you in Japan, don't ride in Chiba. Those drivers are a different sort of animal, Tokyo is a million times better.