Originally Posted by
OffRoadJunkie
The ESC turns the motor into brakes by shorting out the stator. This creates a magnetic pull that will not allow the rotor to turn very easy. Basically, it turns the motor into a generator with an extremely large resistance on it.
An extremely low resistance on it. Shorting it lowers the resistance.
This works by allowing current to flow through the stator as it acts as a generator, which creates a back EMF that opposes the rotation. The lower the resistance, the higher the current, the bigger the EMF.