Due to his heroic status, the legends and myths surrounding the events in his life are difficult to distinguish from facts.

The family's main source of income was agriculture, but Huo Endi also made a living by escorting merchant caravans to Manchuria and back.

Huo Endi hired Chen Seng-ho, a tutor from Japan, to teach his son academics and moral values.

As he became older, Huo went on to challenge martial artists from neighbouring areas and his fame grew as he defeated more opponents in bouts.

In 1896, Huo went to Tianjin and made a living there by working as a porter in the Huaiqing pharmacy and by selling firewood.

[5] Between 1909 and 1910, Huo travelled to Shanghai twice to accept an open challenge posed by an Irish boxer, Hercules O'Brien.

The two of them had arguments over the rules governing such boxing matches and eventually agreed that whoever knocked down his opponent would be the victor.

[8] Huo was encouraged by his close friends and was sponsored by Sun Yat-sen and Song Jiaoren, who were living in Tokyo.

The physician, who was a member of the Japanese Judo Association in Shanghai, invited Huo to a competition upon hearing of the latter's fame.

Although there were disputes over who won the match, both sides generally agreed that the disagreement culminated in a brawl and that members of the judo team, including the head instructor, were injured, some with broken fingers and hands.

In these adaptations, Huo is typically depicted as a heroic martial artist who fights to uphold the dignity of the Chinese people in the face of foreign aggression.

A notable feature in some of these adaptations is the appearance of Chen Zhen, a fictional character first portrayed by Bruce Lee in the 1972 film Fist of Fury (released in the U.S. as The Chinese Connection).