That depends on what you mean by "similar to spellcasting." If you mean "using magic" or "studying" then no - there are very good martial classes that don't do these. If you simply mean "having other options besides hitting it with a pointy stick, and hitting it harder with a pointy stick" then yes, being a good martial class means the latter - and there's nothing wrong with that.

I advise you check out the tier system for classes (can't link it) and look at the kinds of martial classes that make it to Tier 3. That should give you an idea of what martial classes should be able to do in order to keep up with casters. (T2 and T1 always involve magic, because casting is how you break the game.)