He combined interpretative approach with methodological individualism, most notably in the Actions, Norms and Representations, co-written with Milan Stuchlik.
Along with Milan Stuchlík, they published a book called Social Stratification in Tribal Africa (1968), which gained much interest in the West as it was based on ideas opposing the current trend of Marxist anthropology.
During the 1960s, he visited Sudan several times and as a result published Neighbours and Kinsmen in 1973, which defined his lifelong interest in the study of kinship.
In 1972, Holý realised that independent academic research in Czechoslovakia was now impossible, as the relatively free spirit of the Prague Spring had been quelled by the invading forces of the Warsaw Pact.
Consequently, Holý decided not to return home and instead took up Meyer Fortes' recommendation to take up a post at the department of social anthropology at Queen's University Belfast.