• 1974 — Youth National Athletic Competition: broadsword form gold medal, optional empty-hand form gold medal, all-round gold medal;

• 1975 — Third Chinese Wushu Championships: long fist form gold medal, spear form silver medal;

• 1977 — National Wushu Competition: long-fist form gold medal, broadsword form gold medal;

• 1978 — National Wushu Competition: long-fist form gold medal, optional empty-hand form gold medal, broadsword form gold medal, all-round gold medal;

• 1979 — Fourth Chinese Wushu Championships: long-fist form gold medal, optional empty-hand form gold medal, broadsword form gold medal, sparring form gold medal, all-round gold medal.

Some of Huo's best-known fights were open challenges from foreign fighters.

It was a 1901 match with a Russian wrestler in Xiyuan Park, Tianjin that first made Huo famous. The wrestler had openly insulted the Chinese, calling them "Asian weaklings" or "Sick Man Of the East" because no one would accept his challenge to a fight. Huo either defeated the wrestler or the wrestler forefeited the match, which was widely publicized by news papers.

In 1909, Huo, accompanied by his apprentice Liu Zhensheng, traveled to Shanghai to accept an open challenge posed by a British boxer named Hercules O'Brien. The match was preceded by disagreement over what rules it would be governed by. O'Brien insisted on Western boxing rules limiting attacks to punches above the waist. Huo, on the other hand, was more accustomed to the rules of Chinese leitai challenge matches, which lacked such restrictions. They finally agreed that the first person to knock down his opponent would be considered the winner; however, the match never took place and Hercules O'Brien fled the area before the date of the match.

That same year, Huo opened the Jing Wu Ti Cao Hui (Jing Wu Men) martial arts school at Shanghai's north gate.

The 2006 Jet Li film Fearless (Huo Yuan Jia), described an event that took place on September 14, 1910. According to the film, this day is one of the most significant dates in Huo's life. Ever since the country's defeat in the Opium War, Chinese morale had been relegated to a depressive low. His victories had led to a gradual rise in Chinese nationalism. Fearing a possible rebellion, a meeting was called between the leaders of the four industrial powers occupying China at the time — France, Britain, Russia, and Japan. It was decided upon that each of these nations would send a combatant to challenge him in an effort to squelch Chinese optimism. On September 14, 1910, he fought and defeated each of his four challengers. Although the speculated rebellion did not ensue, Chinese pride soared; he became a legendary symbol for Chinese nationalism and is still regarded with great reverence today.

Huo died in 1910. It is often alleged that his death was caused by being poisoned by the Japanese. The films Fist of Fury (starring Bruce Lee) and its remake Fist of Legend are highly-fictionalized accounts of the events following his death. According to Huo's grandson, Huo's death came after the defeat of the 10 members of the Japanese Judo team. During a subsequent dinner with his opponents, Huo's illness (perhaps tuberculosis) prompted the Japanese to offer medical help, but he suffered a severe and fatal reaction to the medication given by the Japanese doctor. Recent films have also included a student by the name of Chen Zhen ( who was portrayed by Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury), who has been determined to be a highly fictionalized character. Jet Li's latest film, Fearless, is also greatly fictionalized as the stories about Huo's family and the actual matches were far from reality. The grandson of Huo Yuanjia, Huo Shoujin, filed a lawsuit March 7, 2006, claiming that the movie dishonored Huo Yuanjia by fabricating information about his life and portraying him as a wealthy man who was childless. Huo Yuan Jia's legacy was carried on by 3 sons and two daughters, and one of his great grand daughters still carries on his legacy as a renowned martial artist.