Originally Posted by torricantdance

Keep your brake on until you feel comfortable riding without it(if thats what you absolutely want) You'll need it there incase you cant stop fast enough and are still having difficulty. It's always nice to have it there just in case, but its really your call.

Long story short: its always nice to have it whether you skid or not. Keep it there til you're absolutely comfortable and sure you can go without it. Bikes are not a great situation where you learn by failing..you can really hurt yourself. (my jackass moment would be getting my fingers cut up cleaning my chain)

Almost everyone started with a brake. Its a personal question you need to ask yourself when the time is right.. but you're not there yet.