Though it may appear to contradict the previous title, this idea is in fact it's direct cousin. The previous strategy, by far the most common, is to avoid first, and only then to make contact (which leads to technique). There is nothing intrinsically wrong with that idea but in terms of searching for that ever elusive aiki we need to consider meeting an attack head-on, either physically or mentally, or both, and harmonising our movement and thought with that attack. In this sense, to avoid could be thought of as running away from the attack whereas meeting it head-on provides us with the opportunity to go straight through it with good timing, or to merge with and redirect it.