Is wrestling considered a martial art?

Is wrestling considered a martial art?
Of course it is a martial art. In fact, according to archaeologicalevidence wrestling is the oldest martial arts in existence. Ancientreligious literature from cultures all around the world usuallymention wrestling of some sort. For instance, the Hebrew Bible(a.k.a. The Old Testament) mentions the third Jewish patriarchJacob wrestling an angel (Gen. 32:22-31).

Some people define a "martial art" as anything to do with physicalcombat or fighting, while others limit the definition to a systemof refined fighting skills (usually covering techniques and tacticsthat can be effective in striking, throwing and grappling), with ablend of philosophy, spiritual enlightenment, and a warrior's codeof moral and ethical conduct.

There are many fighting systems, but the original concept of a"Martial Art" was pertaining to balance between deadly skills, andethics that form a way of life for the trained warrior toappreciate the value of life, the art of living in peace andharmony, and seeking an enlightened path. By this definition,wrestling itself is not a Martial Art, but many of the skillscontained in wrestling are prevalent in most Martial Art unarmedcombat curricula.