Brakes for a tong

1. A tong for handling a tubular, comprising:

a jaw carrier having an active jaw movable from a retracted position to an extended position relative to the jaw carrier, and a passive jaw;

a cam body disposed about the jaw carrier and rotatable relative to the jaw carrier; and

a brake assembly including a first brake member for engaging an upper surface coupled to the jaw carrier.

2. The tong of claim 1 , wherein the brake assembly further comprises a second brake member for engaging a lower surface coupled to the jaw carrier.

3. The tong of claim 2 , wherein the first brake member and the second brake member are independently movable.

4. The tong of claim 2 , wherein the first brake member is attached to an upper portion of the tong.

5. The tong of claim 4 , wherein the second brake member is attached to a lower portion of the tong.

6. The tong of claim 2 , wherein the first brake member comprises a passive brake and the second brake member comprises an active brake.

7. The tong of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the first brake member and the second brake member comprises an arm portion and an engagement portion.

8. The tong of claim 2 , further comprising an actuator for actuating at least one of the first brake member and the second brake member.

9. The tong of claim 2 , wherein the brake assembly further includes a rotor coupled to the jaw carrier, and

wherein the upper surface and the lower surface are surfaces on the rotor.

10. The tong of claim 1 , wherein the tong includes a plurality of first brake members.

11. The tong of claim 1 , wherein the upper surface is a surface of the jaw carrier.

12. A method of rotating a tubular using a tong, comprising:

inserting the tubular into the tong, the tong having a jaw carrier including at least one active jaw, at least one passive jaw, and a cam body;

retaining the jaw carrier using a brake assembly;

rotating the cam body relative to the jaw carrier to radially extend the at least one active jaw into engagement with the tubular;

rotating the jaw carrier using the cam body;

disengaging the brake assembly from retaining the jaw carrier; and

rotating the tubular gripped by the at least one active jaw.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the brake assembly comprises an upper brake for engaging an upper surface coupled to the jaw carrier; and

a lower brake for engaging a lower surface coupled to the jaw carrier.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the upper brake and the lower brake comprises an active brake.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the upper brake and the lower brake are independently movable relative to each other.