Kevin Holland shared an interesting perspective on his son’s relationship with martial arts during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, making it clear that while his family has been exposed to combat skills, it is not a path he is eager to push.
When asked whether his 13-year-old had shown interest in jiu-jitsu, boxing, or competing, Holland explained that he had already introduced the fundamentals but without long-term expectations.
“No, I’ve made him do jiu-jitsu and my little brother’s actually thinking about (MMA) now,”
he said.
“When he was younger and my son’s younger, I’ve always made sure they knew how to do a one, two, three, a good roundhouse kick to the leg and a good flying knee. And as long as they could do those, I felt like we’d be okay.”
“But it’s not something I’m trying to preach and push upon them.”
“I figh t enough times in a lifetime that they should never have to. And if they can find other things that makes them happy, then I’m happy.”
According to Holland, his son has already formed a clear opinion about avoiding that path altogether.
“He goes, ‘Dad, I can actually make some money riding horses.’ I said, ‘Yeah, you can make plenty of money riding horses.’ And he said, ‘Okay, I’ll do that. I don’t want to get punched in the face. I mean, you see my face now. I don’t want to look like that.’ So, he has a game plan.”
Holland returned to the topic later in the conversation, acknowledging the contrast within his own family dynamic.
“My son, he’s all about these horses and hopefully they stay far away ”
“So, I don’t know. Hopefully no jiu-jitsu and no martial arts for my son, though. Hopefully none.”
While Holland has built his career inside the cage, his comments reflect a different priority at home, where his son’s interests are being allowed to take a separate direction.
