Robert Frankovich was born and raised in Chisholm, MN. He attended Chisholm High School and graduated in 1980. Earning an Associate of Arts degree from Hibbing Community College now Arrowhead Community College - Hibbing campus) and a Bachelor's of Science degree in 1987 from the University of Wisconsin - Superior allowed him to begin working in the fitness industry. Later he went back to Hibbing Technical College and completed the law enforcement coursework necessary to become Minnesota POST eligible. He began working in the security industry in 1986 and since he has worked in proprietary and contact security as an armed and unarmed officer.

In 1981, he found the opportunity to train in Taekwondo through the Karate North organization as part of Hibbing MN's Community Education program and has continued his training since. When he moved to Superior, WI to complete his bachelor's degree, he trained with the UW-Superior Karate North classes. His teaching started when Master Tom Sullivan asked him to the UM-Duluth Summer class in 1986. His training continued at UW-Superior and he started offering classes through community education in Superior and Duluth. In 1990, he changed his school name to Pine Tree Taekwondo to reflect the more traditional aspect that his teaching had developed toward. This is a result of his search for what Song Moo Kwan was. The first of his articles about Song Moo Kwan, an original school of Taekwondo, was published in 1994. He remained with the Karate North and earned the rank of 3rd Dan until 1996, when an opportunity was given to him to help build a new Song Moo Kwan Taekwondo organization. This new organization, in its original version, failed and he returned to Minnesota in late 1997. He began training at the North American Taekwondo Federation with Grandmaster Ro, Hee Sang, son of the Song Moo Kwan founder, and was promoted to 4th Dan before leaving the organization due to financial disagreements. In 2002, he contacted the American Song Moo Kwan Association, which had re-established itself after the initial attempt in 1996. He trained with their curriculum and was promoted to 5th Dan in August 2003. (View breaking demo from this test here) This was shortly before Master James Wolwend took formal leadership of the organization. Since then, Robert has been working to collect information about Song Moo Kwan, its Masters and Grandmasters and the stories from the leaders. Toward this goal, he developed the International Song Moo Kwan Association (ISMKA) as a place to collect the names, stories and those who have lost their instructors or schools but do not want to lose their connection to Song Moo Kwan. Through the Masters working with the ISMKA, he was promoted to 6th Dan in 2009.

In 1990, after completing the law enforcement training, he decided that his martial arts training needed to be supplemented by an art that didn't promote striking as the method of gaining control of a situation. It was at this time that he found Seidokan Aikido. A class at the Duluth YMCA taught by Brad Bergeron-sensei started the journey in Aikido. This seemed to be a natural direction to develop and train within now that he had completed the law enforcement training and testing with police and sheriff departments and didn't feel the Taekwondo would be sufficient enough for working within a police/sheriff department. One of the governing concepts for Seidokan Aikdio was to bring the principles of Aikido into daily life. Shihan Roderick Kobayashi, founder of Seidokan Aikido believed that everything taught should have applications in daily life for anything from conflict resolution to promoting health and personal growth. Kobayashi-sensei's insights were unique and the product of his years of training and as a student of Koichi Tohei-sensei. He receivede his Shodan certification in 1993 and was one to the last students promoted (to Nidan) before Kobayashi-sensei's untimely death in 1995..

In August 2003, Robert had the opportunity to begin training in Haidong Gumdo, a Korean sword art. He continued working on the introductory curriculum and, in March 2005, connected with Master Laura Clements to further his training. He received his Master Instructor certification in November 2005 and is currently teaching classes as Haidong Gumdo - Minnesota.

The headquarters of Haidong Gumdo - Minnesota is the New Hope dojang based at Sparrow Institute. Interest in the curriculum grew quickly and branch schools were opened shortly after making connections with Master Laura. There are now four dojangs lead by Master Frankovich. The first black belt testing was held in December 2008. Three students receiveed their certifications with one also joining the instructor's program.

View a cutting demos from the MN Renaissance Festival here - One straw mat.....Two straw mats.

Sparrow Institute was 10 years in the making. The concept behind it is to break down the "my art is better than your art" attitude that has developed in the martial arts industry as it has become more commercialized. Service to the community through offering personal growth and protection skills is main focus. Sparrow Institute is a 501c3 non-profit that brings together martial artists and instructors with similar mindsets. Martial arts fit the individual's personality and what works for one person doesn't mean that it will or won't for another. This definitely means that no one art is better than any other. The martial arts taught within Sparrow Institute are traditional with full curriculums. While sport is not discouraged, the individual's personal development is a greater focus. Sparrow Institute opened in June 2004 and moved to its current location (4928 Highway 169 North New Hope, MN) in March 2006. In January 2010, Sparrow Institute closed due to insufficient enrollment to fund the location.

In June 2009, he created White Tiger Martial Arts to provide martial arts courses through a variety of Minnesota locations. This is an expansion of Sparrow Institute philosophy. Once established and other like-minded instructors are found, work will begin on opening a full-time schools as additional locations.