Considering what I am going to do with my trees I foung this picture. Looks impressive, but knowing what I know from my tree and reading you 'experts' in figs, I find this very sad, it was here in my area... there would be like no figs  at all, there is no year old branch left.  What you guys think?

http://www.michaelcooke.com.au/blog/?p=2838

Well, with my novice idea, I know those tiers are too close and fruiting branches grow some 3 feet or so...this does not seem productive. I would love to see it with foliage and fruit.. may write the blogger and ask...

Check out pruning in Japan. Fig Link 739a

I've seen these pictures. I think it is amazing and further my concern that Fig is not a good candidate for 3 tier (close) espalier.  I see my tree, when I trim, it shoots tall branches.  the picture at 004 you posted is how Brazilians cultivate figs for production. and it appears to be the method explained in that 1901 article.  It makes sense if Breba is not important. In Brazil, they allow one branch to grow and prune the other, and each tree cannot have more than 12 branches.  
http://www.fruticultura.iciag.ufu.br/figo.html#_Toc42603270  see the pictures 1/2 way down the page.  I want to try the Japanese method of inclining the tree.  It makes a lot of sense. 

I'd like to try the Japanese method also. A long branch ten inches or so above the ground would be really easy to protect for the winter.

Squirrels ate about half my figs this year on my standard tree anyway. Who knows, if I could keep a short espalier maybe I could protect wit a screen from the critters!

I hear there is how some farmers do in Hawaii also.   There is always someone experimenting.  I read and hear a lot about pruning all water sprouts from apples and pears... I visited a fig grower last weekend (some 35 trees) and other fruits, and he 'bend's the tall suckers down and tie them to other lower branches or lines to the ground - you would not believe the size of fruits on those ' water suckers'.  Make sense, since they are very strong- if all the tree energy was put into those suckers, the tree should put out fruits on them also.  I should have taken pictures - totally against the standard pruning methods I ever seen. 

Sparked the idea -why not incorporate this method to my tree long/tall limbs?  I was about to cut them out, but for the same of this experiment, I secured it to a long bamboo and I am lowering it to a reacheable size. (if the japanese method is natural, it should shoot laterals up with fruits.   Now I wonder if I should clip the tip or just let it be.  It is the stronger branch in the tree, so lets see how it produces next year.

in zone 7, brebas are not your only crop, far from it, Herman just picked some more figs in zone 6b new jersery from a main crop.

It matters how much you prune them. I lost many Brebas, not knowing how to prune my tree.  year after year..duh me.. now I know, finally figs here (Seattle) grow in last year's growth, so pruning to 2 "eyes" eliminates them - better to leave them alone if I want figs.. Maybe in warmer weather is different?

So I should be waiting until after a breba crop to prune? Sorry to detour thread.

Here is my idea, Hortstu.  I am going to prune heavily this winter to shape my trees and keep them low.   To get brebas, I will leave a couple of long limbs for one season, then prune them out next winter.

Is this better than cutting them off in July after harvesting the brebas?  Any thoughts from you more experienced growers?

Dave your idea will work fine.  It's all a matter of what you want.  A lot of people don't like their brebas so they get rid of them in hopes of getting an earlier main crop.  Others think any fig's a good fig so they leave old growth on.  Your way will give you some brebas and it's a good middle ground.  With Desert King, a breba only crop for most of us, we either prune the whole tree right after we pick the last of its crop or prune each branch when it's done.