The two styles most associated with Yue are Eagle Claw and Xingyi boxing. One book states Yue created Eagle Claw for his enlisted soldiers and Xingyi for his officers. Legend has it that Yue Fei studied in the Shaolin Temple with a monk named Zhou Tong and learned the "Elephant" style of boxing, a set of hand techniques with great emphasis on Qinna joint-locking.Other tales say he learned this style elsewhere outside the temple under the same master. Yue Fei eventually expanded Elephant style to create the Yibai Lingba Qinna (一百零八擒拿 - "108 Locking Hand Techniques") of the Ying Sao (Eagle Hands) or Ying Kuen (Eagle Fist). After becoming a general in the imperial army, Yue taught this style to his men and they were very successful in battle against the armies of the Jin Empire. Following his wrongful execution and the disbandment of his armies, Yue's men supposedly traveled all over China spreading the style, which eventually ended right back in Shaolin where it began. Later, a monk named Lai Chin (麗泉) combined this style with Fanziquan, another style attributed to the General, to create the modern day form of Northern Ying Jow Pai boxing.

According to legend, Yue combined his knowledge of Internal martial arts and spearplay learned from Zhou Tong (in Shaolin) to create the linear fist attacks of Xingyi boxing. One book claims he studied and synthesized Buddhism's Tendon Changing and Marrow Washing qigong systems to create Xingyi. On the contrary, proponents of Wudang Boxing believe it's possible that Yue learned the style in the Wudang Mountains that border his home province of Henan. The reasons they cite for this conclusion are that he supposedly lived around the same time and place as Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of Taichi; Xingyi’s five fist attacks, which are based on the five chinese elements theory, are similar to Taichi's "Yin-yang theory"; and both theories are Taoist-based and not Buddhist. The book Henan Orthodox Xingyi Quan, written by Pei Xirong (裴锡荣) and Li Ying’ang (李英昂), states Xingyi Master Dai Longbang wrote the "Preface to Six Harmonies Boxing" in the 15th reign year of the Qianlong Emperor. Inside it says, '...when (Yue Fei) was a child, he received special instructions from Zhou Tong. He became extremely skilled in the spear method. He used the spear to create methods for the fist. He established a method called Yi Quan （意拳）. Mysterious and unfathomable, followers of old did not have these skills. Throughout the Jin, Yuan and Ming Dynasties few had his art. Only Ji Gong had it."
 
Inside the grounds of Yue Fei's tomb and shrine in Hangzhou; the inscriptions at the far end read "Serve the country with loyalty" (尽忠报国).The Ji Gong mentioned above, better known as Ji Jike (姬際可) or Ji Long Feng (姬隆丰), is said to have trained in the Shaolin temple for ten years as a young man and was matchless with the spear.[51] As the story goes, He later traveled to Xongju Cave on Zhongnen Mountain to receive a boxing manual written by Yue Fei, from which he learned Xingyi. However, some believe Ji actually created the style himself and attributed it to Yue Fei because he was fighting the Manchus, descendants of the Jurchens who the general had struggled against. Ji supposedly created it after watching a battle between an eagle and a bear during the Ming Dynasty. Other sources say he created it while training in the Shaolin temple. He was reading a book and looked up to see two roosters fighting, which inspired him to imitate the fighting styles of animals.Both versions of the story (eagel/bear and roosters) state he continued to study the actions of animals and eventually increased the cadre of animal forms.

Several other martial arts have been attributed to Yue Fei, including Yuejiaquan (Yue Family Boxing), Fanziquan (Tumbling Boxing), and Chuojiao quan (Feet-Poking Boxing), among others. The "Fanzi Boxing Ballad" says: "Wu Mu has passed down the Fanzi Quan which has mystery in its straightforward movements." Wu Mu (武穆) was a Posthumous name given to Yue after his death. One Chuojiao legend states Zhou Tong learned the style from its creator, a wandering Taoist named Deng Liang (邓良), and later passed it onto Yue Fei, who is considered to be the progenitor of the style.

Besides the martial arts, Yue is also said to have studied Traditional Chinese medicine. He understood the essence of Hua Tuo's Wu Qin Xi (五禽戲 – "Five Animal Folics") and created his own form of "medical qigong" known as the Ba Duan Jin (八段錦 – "Eight Pieces of Brocade"). It is considered a form of Wai Dan (外丹 – "External Elixir") medical qigong. He taught this qigong to his soldiers to help keep their bodies strong and well-prepared for battle.[65][66] One legend states that Zhou Tong took young Yue to meet a Buddhist Hermit who taught him Emei Dapeng Qigong (峨嵋大鵬氣功). His training in Dapeng Qingong was the source of his great strength and martial arts abilities. Modern practitioners of this style say it was passed down by Yue.

Connection to Praying Mantis boxing

According to The Story of Yue Fei, the Water Margin bandits Lin Chong and Lu Junyi were former students of Yue’s teacher Zhou Tong.One martial legend states Zhou learned Chuojiao boxing from its originator Deng Liang (邓良) and then passed it onto Yue Fei, who is sometimes considered the progenitor of the style. Chuojiao is also known as the "Water Margin Outlaw style" and Yuānyāng Tuǐ (鴛鴦腿 - "Mandarin Duck Leg"). In the Water Margin's twenty-ninth chapter, entitled "Wu Song, Drunk, Beats Jiang the Gate Guard Giant", it mentions Wu Song, another of Zhou's fictional students, using the "Jade Circle-Steps with Duck and Drake feet".A famous folklore Praying Mantis manuscript, which describes the fictional gathering of eighteen martial arts masters in Shaolin, lists Lin Chong as a master of "Mandarin ducks kicking technique".This creates a folklore connection between Yue and Mantis boxing.

Lineage Mantis Master Yuen Man Kai openly claims Zhou taught Lin and Lu the "same school" of martial arts that was later combined with the aforementioned seventeen other schools to create Mantis fist.[70] However, he believes Mantis fist was created during the Ming Dynasty, and was therefore influenced by these eighteen schools from the Song. He also says Lu Junyi taught Yan Qing the same martial arts as he learned from Zhou.Master Yuen further comments Zhou later taught Yue the same school and that Yue was the originator of the mantis move "Black Tiger Steeling  Heart".