My understanding from some CMA's (such as Bajiquan and Lan shou Quan) and especially Ninjutsu, is that to apply qinna or qinna and throwing, you need to
strike hard enough to really stun the opponent, then you have a chance to apply these techinques. Without this stunning, and in light or no contact sparring, applying qinnq is most difficult and often dangerous.
Some Aikido styles almost always hit/strike first then apply various qinna.
This is not true of all styles of Aikido.
And angular stepping and getting off his center line is most important to apply qinna, this angular stepping buys you time and a momentary space of advantage to use to STUN and apply what qinna fits the situation.
It is best if you just find yourself move around feeling out an opponent, to not think about applying this qinna or that, just apply with fits at the time. Remember to hit him where it hurts first. To be able to do this with some confidence requires a lot of drills or 2 man practice, which includes the set up, stiking and application. That is how I see it, IMHO.